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Petition to Congress/Senate to Pass Laws to Fund Medicare Coverage of Hearing Aids

(Download to print this form) Fill in below, sign it and mail or email to your Senator and/or Congressional Representative. Visit http://VoteSmart.org to identify your congressional representatives/ Senators and obtain their addresses (email & postal). 

Write or call your congressional representative and Senators, demanding action today.

To (Name of Rep/Senator):_____________________________________________________

Have you heard about the new study[1]that contains surprising data on the prevalence of hearing problems in the Medicare population? Hearing loss is much more prevalent among the elderly than previously thought.

In the nationally representative sample of older Medicare participants age 71 or above, almost two-thirds (65.3%)—corresponding to an estimated 21.5 million individuals—had some degree of hearing loss. By age 80, 84% had hearing issues. By age 90, nearly all (96.2%) had hearing loss. However, only 29.2% of those with hearing loss used hearing aids.

The study authors concluded: (1) This study provides a significant step forward in better understanding the true extent of hearing loss among older U.S. adults. (2) It is the kind of data we need to appropriately plan public health and policy actions to address hearing loss in the U.S. (3) This has important implications for hearing-focused policies and initiatives, such as the Over-the-Counter Hearing Aid Act and Medicare coverage for hearing aids.

Besides the sheer numbers, there are other reasons why Medicare should cover hearing aids.

Hearing loss can hurt your quality of life. A large study by the National Council on Aging connected hearing loss to isolation, stress, anger, depression, loneliness, memory loss, dementia, cognitive decline, and many other problems.

This is a game changer - It’s time for Medicare to provide coverage for hearing aids. 

The Time to Hear is Here.™

Sincerely,

Signed______________________________________________ Date: _______________

Name (please print)_________________________________________________________

Address_________________________________________________________________

City, state, zip_____________________________________________________________

This form can be copied, transmitted, printed, or stored electronically. For more forms, information, or a presentation on this subject to your group/club/organization, contact Ron Gottardi at Ron.Gottardi@TheTimeToHearIsHere.org Tel: 856-608-7984. 

Petition to Congress 20231030.docx

[1] Published in a Journal of the American Medical Association, July 28, 2023 (JAMA Network Open). The data is a nationally representative sample of older medicare beneficiaries.

Study led by Nicholas Reed, Aud, PhD, of Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health

Source: Strom, Karl, Editor-in-Chief, Hearingtracker.com, posted July 28, 2023