Horton hears

When Forrest Horton was a child growing up in Salina, he was among the many youngsters who contracted German measles.

Mostly a mild irritant that kept students out of school for a few days, this form of measles could be quite deadly, and in less severe cases, it could rob children of their hearing.

Horton was a victim of this sort of theft.

"It knocked off my hearing in both ears," said Horton, who retired in 2006 as director of the Crossroads program at Central Kansas Mental Health Center in Salina.

Contemporary programs for children with hearing impairments didn't exist 60 years ago, so Horton went to school along with everyone else.

"School passed me from one class to another. They felt sorry for me," he said, adding that he shares some of the blame.

"I didn't want to wear hearing aids when I was younger," he said.

He admits hearing aids, crude as they might have been then, would have eased his early school career. He didn't get his first pair until he finished high school. Nevertheless, he went on to earn undergraduate and graduate degrees in social work, having worked as a psychiatric aide at Larned State Hospital.

If only cochlear implants had been available.

Horton knows the benefits of this technology: He sports one in each ear.

Well, that's not quite accurate. They aren't in his ears.

"I don't hear through my ears. I hear through my brain," he said. "I'm totally deaf in my ears. People with cochlear implants don't have residual hearing left."

The reason is that the implants bypass the ears' complex innards and send signals directly to the auditory nerve. Horton receives sounds through tiny microphones embedded in behind-the-ear hearing aid-like devices called speech processors. From there, sounds travel via small wires to transmitters -- quarter-size wafers attached to the sides of his head.

The decision to have the surgery was not made lightly by Horton and his wife, Mary.

"We discussed it quite a while before we agreed to do it," he said.

One reason was the loss of normal hearing. Another was his job at the mental health center.

"He had to communicate with clients and their families, the courts, probation officers," Mary Horton said. "To understand, you had to have 70 percent of your hearing."

Would he still be able to understand and relay information correctly? That was the gamble he was about to take.

His right ear was the worse of the two, so seven years ago he chose that one as a test of the effectiveness of implants.

Medicare Hearing Aids - News


Senior Advocate: When to enroll in Medicare depends on employment status

You can, if you wish, also keep the employer's plan if it offers coverage for non-Medicare covered items such as hearing aids, vision tests and glasses and routine dental care. Again you will want to consider the cost, if any.



It's Time to Burn My AARP Card

After all, AARP hawks health, auto, motorcycle, home, mobile home, long-term care, dental and life insurance besides offering discounts and incentives for travel, eyeglass, hearing aid and many other services. It also sells annuities,



Horton hears

"I didn't want to wear hearing aids when I was younger," he said. He admits hearing aids, crude as they might have been then, would have eased his early school career. He didn't get his first pair until he finished high school. Nevertheless, he went on



Fact Check: Pat Boone On The Ryan Plan

That could force insurers to do away with some extra benefits that Medicare doesn't require, such as hearing aids and eyeglasses. Ryan says he would reinvest those reductions into Medicare, while the health law does not. Democrats claim that there is



Asheville-area health calendar

MEDICARE INFORMATION: 2-4 pm June 24, UNC Asheville's Reuter Center. Sessions will provide an overview of Medicare from the NC Senior's Health Insurance Information Program (SHIIP), in partnership with the NC Center for Creative Retirement.




Enabling You Hear Now – Medicare Hearing Aids Information ...

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Medicare Hearing Aids - Bookshelf

Pediatric Life Care Planning and Case Management

Pediatric Life Care Planning and Case Management

Although Medicare does not pay for hearing devices in fee-for-service plans, hearing aids may be covered by Medicare + Choice plans (ie, health maintenance ...

Hearing aids and the older American, Hearings, Ninety-third Congress, first session

Hearing aids and the older American, Hearings, Ninety-third Congress, first session

As the Chairman pointed out, the elimination of hearing aid dealers from involvement in the proposed Medicare hearing aid program is simply not workable. ...

Life care planning and case management handbook

Life care planning and case management handbook

Although Medicare does not pay for hearing devices in fee-for-service plans, hearing aids may be covered by Medicare+Choice plans, such as health ...

Social Security, Medicare & Government Pensions, Get the Most Out of Your Retirement & Medical Benefits

Social Security, Medicare & Government Pensions, Get the Most Out of Your Retirement & Medical Benefits

Eyesight and Hearing Exams, Glasses, and Hearing Aids Medicare medical insurance does not cover routine eye or hearing examinations. ...

Audiology practice management

Audiology practice management

Although traditional Medicare does not cover hearing tests completed for the purpose of fitting hearing aids or hearing aids, it does cover many auditory ...

Gold Information Directory


Medicare.com - Medicare And Hearing Aids - Does Medicare ...
You'll also learn whether or not medicare pays for hearing aids or exams, and the specifics ... In general, Medicare does not cover routine hearing exams or hearing aids of any ...

Medical website
However, Medicare does pay a small amount for hearing tests. As an alternative to the high cost of hearing aids, you could order hearing aids ...

Medicare.com - Hearing Exams and Aids
Medicare does not cover routine hearing exams or hearing aids of any type. In some cases, diagnostic hearing exams are covered by Medicare Part B. ...

Medicare.gov - Medicare Coverage Search Results
Medicare does not cover routine hearing exams or hearing aids. ... You pay 20% of Medicare-approved amount for diagnostic hearing exams. The part of Medicare that pays for this ...

Medicare Hearing Aids: The Facts about the Coverage ...
Medicare Hearing Aids: The Facts about the Coverage. Basically, about .08 percent of children born in the United States have hearing impairment to some degree. ...