Quebec's hearing aid plan for seniors only covers 1 ear. Critics are calling for change
Children, workers and students get covered for hearing aids for both ears
Seniors experiencing hearing loss in Quebec are calling on the province to reverse a long-standing policy that compensates them for only one hearing aid, even if they need two — one for each ear.
"It's an insult. It's really not fair, and I think it should stop. It should be that you're allowed to have two hearing aids," Martha Perusse, a 71-year-old with hearing loss, told CBC in an interview.
For decades, Quebec's health insurance board, the Régie de l'assurance maladie du Québec (RAMQ), has covered the cost of two hearing aids — one for each ear — for children 18 and under, adults who need hearing aids for their studies or work and people who are also visually impaired.
But for anyone else — mainly seniors and unemployed adults — the RAMQ only covers the cost of one hearing aid, even when someone requires them for both ears.
"How does that make any sense?" Marina Souranis, an NDG resident who wears hearing aids and who's set to retire next month, told CBC in an interview.
Souranis has used hearing aids since she started experiencing hearing loss in her 30s.
One for each ear was always covered by the government.
Now she'll see her coverage reduced to covering the cost of just one hearing aid when she retires.
"It's bizarre. Instead of giving you things when you retire, they take things away," Souranis said.
Perusse says "it was like a slap in the face" when she realized she wasn't going to have two hearing aids covered.
She ended up paying out of her own pocket so she could have a hearing aid for each ear. But she wasn't happy about it.
"I had done good work all my life and I was continuing to do good work as a volunteer," Perusse said.
"I think people our age should still be considered valuable members of society."
'Having 2 ears is not a luxury'
Quebec's order of hearing aid specialists, the Ordre des audioprothésistes du Québec (OAQ), and Hear Quebec, an advocacy group for people living with hearing loss that serves primarily Quebec's anglophone community, are calling on the province to cover the cost of two hearing aids for everyone who needs them.
"Having two ears is not a luxury. It's just a basic need in terms of hearing correction," OAQ president David Gélinas told CBC.
"It's important to correct both ears in order to restore localization, to have better performance and basically to be more comfortable," he said.
Heidy Wager, president of Hear Quebec, says one hearing aid is "like wearing one prescription glass lens and then still expecting to see properly."
Gélinas said the most basic hearing aids cost $1,500 per ear.
"The majority of our members are seniors on fixed income and can't afford that," Wager said.
"They're left behind. They fall through the cracks. We have to look at our population right now — it's aging, and hearing loss is huge," Wager said.
The OAQ estimates expanding coverage would cost the province $133 million over five years.
Gélinas said that would be money well spent.
"We know that hearing loss is linked to an increased risk of cognitive decline, increased risk of falls, increased risk of depression," he said.
Wager notes all of those things combined have a significant impact on our health-care system.
Hearing aids a social lifeline
Wager said hearing aids are also an important way for seniors to remain connected to the world.
"There's already a huge issue and stigma around accepting that you have a hearing loss," she said. "So that in itself is a barrier. And now the government only supplying one out of two is another barrier."
Perusse says many seniors also already have trouble adapting to wearing hearing aids.
"They just don't have the confidence to put up with it for a couple of weeks until they can adapt," she said. "I really believe that two hearing aids will help people to adapt faster, and then they'll continue to wear them."
Wager said seniors with hearing loss tend to isolate themselves, and that effective hearing aids can help prevent that.
"If you want to be socially active and included in your community and part of family gatherings, then you're most likely going to want to purchase that second hearing aid," she said.
Quebec more generous than other provinces
Sonia Bélanger, the minister responsible for seniors, did not respond to CBC's request for comment.
But a spokesperson for Bélanger told Radio-Canada that the province was looking at "modernizing" the funding model for hearing aids, but was not ready to discuss details.
Wager said while RAMQ covering only one hearing aid for seniors doesn't make sense and should be changed, the situation is even worse in other provinces.
"For treatment of hearing loss, we are one of the better provinces in terms of getting hearing aids and having different options," she said.
Ontario offers coverage for two hearing aids for seniors, but the coverage maxes out at $500 per device, which overall is less generous than Quebec.
Most other provinces only subsidize the cost of hearing aids for some low-income seniors.
"More than a billion people across the world have a hearing loss right now. It's huge and it's not going anywhere," Wager said.
"It's something we need to address and it needs to be taken more seriously."
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