Veterans Affairs and Income Assistance Hearing Aid Funding in BC

Most people I see have no idea what they're entitled to. They assume hearing aids are entirely out of pocket, or they had funding once and think that was the end of it.

Two programs cover a lot of people in this valley, and both of them renew.

What Veterans Affairs Canada covers

Hearing aids fall under VAC's Audio Services program, POC 3.

The policy says the department "will normally replace only one hearing aid per ear in a four-year period." So it isn't a one-time benefit. It comes around again.

Eligibility isn't automatic and VAC makes that decision, not me. It depends on your service and on your hearing loss meeting their criteria. You need an audiogram completed by a registered audiologist, a physician, an ENT, or a hearing instrument practitioner.

Early replacement inside the four years can be authorised in some cases, such as when your hearing has changed significantly or a repair doesn't make financial sense.

What BC Income Assistance covers

If you're on income or disability assistance in BC, hearing instruments are covered as a health supplement.

The ministry covers up to $2,000 per aid, along with a year's supply of batteries and a one-time replacement allowance of $300 per aid.

The replacement period is three years, provided replacement is more economical than repair and the aids weren't damaged through misuse.

Like VAC, it needs an assessment from a registered audiologist or a hearing instrument practitioner.

How to know whether you have funding available

The simple version: count back.

Veteran, aids four years old or more? Worth checking.

On Income Assistance, aids three years old or more? Worth checking.

Not sure how old they are? Bring them to me and I can usually tell from the device itself.

You don't need to work out your own eligibility before you call. That's the part people get stuck on, and it's the part I do.

What I actually do with the paperwork

I handle the VAC and Income Assistance submissions directly. You don't fill in forms, chase approvals or sit on hold.

What happens on my end is a full diagnostic hearing test, the paperwork, and then the fitting once it's approved. On fitting day I do real-ear verification, which measures what the hearing aid is actually doing inside your ear rather than trusting the manufacturer's default settings.

Then repairs and follow-up as long as you have them.

Where I work

I'm Joe Wadden, a Registered Hearing Instrument Practitioner. I've been in the trade for thirty years.

There's no clinic and no waiting room. I come to you, and the whole appointment happens at your kitchen table, across West Kelowna, Kelowna, Peachland, Summerland and Penticton.

If it's been more than four years since your last set and you served, or more than three on Income Assistance, it costs you nothing to find out whether there's funding waiting.