Hearing Aids etc
 

I was speaking to a family member yesterday in the UK and he mentioned he'd been to the dentist, had a crown fitted and came away in pain - following the £750 cheque he paid for the treatment. I told him that Mme TP had a crown fitted just last month, and she didn't have to pay anything following the treatment. The family member found that unbelievable!
Of course we know it's not totally free here as we make health-related contributions elsewhere plus Mutual payments if required, but overall the system here appears pretty fair.
Which brings me to the subject query. I'm not sure if I heard (pun intended) that quite recently in addition to dentistry work there were changes made in France for the cost of hearing devices, with some being fully reimbursed. Could anyone please confirm the current situation here, especially if you've benefitted from any recent changes for hearing devices.
Fwiw, I'm in no way an old deaf f*rt, but would be the first to admit to having some hearing deterioration, especially as 40+ years of my working life was in and alongside aircraft, with many of my ex-work colleagues now suffering severe hearing loss and wear hearing aids.
But I still consider myself lucky, as although Mme TP doesn't exactly snore, I can still hear her purring away merrily in her sleep. Well I think that's what's she's doing.......

Re: Hearing Aids etc
 

I haven't heard of hearing aids being fully reimbursed, but then I'd prefer not to know. I acquired mine several years ago (for a 4-figure sum) and seem to recollect being reimbursed peanuts from the Sécu and Mutuelle. The redeeming feature is that SAV is free and, Oh Boy, batteries are reimbursed once a year...
Don't leave it too long to have a test, either by an ORL or an audioprothésiste!

Re: Hearing Aids etc
 

Thanks for the feedback DMU. The shock of having to fork out a 4-figure sum is enough to make anyone go blind too!
We were obliged to travel back to UK every other year for a full medical check-up during which time an audiogram test was performed too. Not surprisingly ear on ear year-on-year some deterioration was observed, but fortunately even now I don't feel particularly handicapped. Whether others feel the same about me is another story.......:sneaky:
If anyone else has related information to share........ I'm all ears (well partly anyway).

Re: Hearing Aids etc
 

I started to lose my hearing at age 16. Hubby was in the RCAF for 36 years. His hearing is deteriorating now and he has found that the nano hearing aids that you can buy online for about $200 work great for him. BTW he is 80

Re: Hearing Aids etc
 

Crown costs vary if you opt for a ceramic crown it costs a lot more my next challenge is working out the cost of tooth replacement options

Re: Hearing Aids etc
 

I haven't been on this forum for a very long time, but have been 'lurking' - finally I think I can contribute.

It is true that there have been changes regarding hearing aids. Suppliers must now offer at least one pair of aids at 100% Santé (which covers up to 1000€ price), which means you can get them for free! Even better, and I know because I have just obtain some new aids, you should be able to 'upgrade' to better ones and only pay the difference. The original price for the ones I chose was 2700€, but with the CPAM contribution, plus Mutuel, I only had to pay 700€ - also no waiting for repayments, it was taken off by the supplier.

Every supplier must offer some at 100% Santé, but not all do unless reminded! Bit of a plug, but I used Ecouter Voir, who also let me have them on trial for 5 weeks until I was happy with the set-up. I had a choice of several models and could have paid nothing, all the way to the top model that I chose.

In the end a better deal than I had for my last pair in the UK!

Re: Hearing Aids etc
 

Are you a "Mutualiste"? Since being politely refused to serve me in a Mutualiste opticians, I've always understood that only certain employees can benefit from Ecouter Voir, for example, not M/Mme Tout le Monde...
P.S. You must have a better Mutuelle than me!!

Re: Hearing Aids etc
 

Ah, no .... I thought I was just one of the plebs! I just went armed with a prescription from the doctor and asked them for a rendezvous for a hearing test, then once there I was asked for Carte Vitale, my Mutuelle (which doesn't specifically cover aids) and the following the tests we looked at the various options. From the start I was shown the price, less the government contribution, less the Mutuelle contri and the bottom line cost.

I did wonder if there was a catch or I had to pay and then claim back, but no. Apparently Allianz (Santé Clair) are a partner or something to Ecouter Voir, which may help, but a friend had been to them before and had the same response. I don't think they are with the same Mutuelle.

Re: Hearing Aids etc
 

Many thanks to all for the additional info. I was particularly interested to hear about the nano aids, and I've since been onto several websites that provide fuller details and instructive (admittedly promotional) videos. I note too that nano aids are U.S. made and distributed, and appear only available on-line.
Just for additional discussion, what seems strange to me is that one would order up a hearing aid on line. In the past I believe I've read with other providers that they should be carefully fitted and specifically 'tuned' to each individual user, and rechecked for satisfaction after several months of use - although my skepticism hints that too could just be a commercial argument to provide additional revenue.

Re: Hearing Aids etc
 

I'm not sure that I would order hearing aids online. It is true that to get the best out of the aids chosen, then they should be fitted following a hearing test, where the new aids can be tuned to your own particularly hearing frequency. I actually had mine for three weeks, before going back and then having the settings 'tweaked'. I also had a further appointment so that I could have them tweaked again! There's no charge for any of this, on top of the price for the aids, which I already knew.

There is a smartphone app that also allows me to create additional 'programs' for the aids and to change the settings on the fly whilst out; that's proved useful too. There is a further appointment booked for 6 months time, also free, for a review and any further adjustments.

Can't see how you can sort something so personal online.

Re: Hearing Aids etc
 

I, too, wonder about buying a hearing aid on-line. How can you be sure that they're tuned properly and that you actually put them in properly, and what about SAV?
The "free" SAV for life when consulting Audika or the like, is included in the price (but I regret that it doesn't include accessories such as lingettes, pastilles, etc....)

Re: Hearing Aids etc
 

Out of interest, I was given a couple of boxes of lignettes, a pack of domes, plus the extra battery pack for the charger, at no extra charge, which slightly surprised me because even in the UK I was charged for those sort of things.

Re: Hearing Aids etc
 

I was given a pack of lingettes, etc... when I bought the aids, but they don't last long!;)

Re: Hearing Aids etc
 

Hi, and welcome to the France section of the forum!
Hearing loss is a gradual process. I started to be aware of the problem when I often couldn't "reconstitute" spoken French sentences by guesswork. I thought it was just a question of comprehension, but then I noticed that I only half understood what English family was saying on the telephone. A first visit to the ENT, then audioprothésiste, confirmed that it was my hearing at fault, not language....
Whatever precautions you take now, I would urge you to consult an ENT at the first sign, before it's too late!:)