Proposed updates to the VA Schedule for Rating Disabilities by The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) may shrink payments to veterans for disorders that include tinnitus and sleep apnea, according to an article in the “Military Times.”
The Enterprise Remote Tuning of Hearing Instruments (ERTHI) program, in conjunction with the VA Audiology and Speech Pathology Program Office, will allow veterans to interact “virtually” with audiologists, who can help fine tune and adjust the hearing aid's settings to fit the needs of its user.
In fact, the study finds that the only factor that leveled the playing field for hearing aid use was having insurance through the Department of Veterans Affairs, which covers hearing aids in many cases.
The three-day conference will be held at the Portland VA Research Center in Portland, Ore.
Read More
VA HearAssist allows the hearing aid wearer to connect via smartphone to the audiologist’s fitting software via a secure internet connection. Using a Bluetooth link between the hearing aid and smartphone mobile app developed by Phonak, the audiologist can then directly access the hearing aids, without the use of an additional intermediary device.
Read More
According to HIA statistics, 3.65 million hearing aid units were dispensed in the United States during 2016—or 8.7% more than in 2017. For the private/commercial sector, hearing aid unit sales grew by 10.6% in 2016—a strong follow-up to the 7.8% gains experienced in 2015. However, when accounting for gains by Big Box retailers and other factors, unit gains for most dispensing practices in 2016 were more likely to be around 6%.
Read More
An overview of the VA telehealth and pilot tele-audiology programs.
Read More