Montana’s Hearing Aid Donation Program: A Step Towards Inclusive Healthcare

According to the National Council on Aging, a pair of hearing aids can cost anywhere from $99 to $7,000, not including annual maintenance payments.

Many people in need cannot afford to care for their hearing due to the high costs.

However, Hearing Solutions of Montana hopes to spread generosity by donating ten pairs of hearing aids to individuals in need. “It’s all about making sure folks can hear. So I wanted to give them the opportunity because we get things given and they just sit there,” explained Sue Sherman, owner of Hearing Solutions of Montana.

The National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders reports that “about 28.8 million adults in the United States could benefit from wearing hearing aids.” However, Sherman claims that many people cannot afford the equipment.

“Some folks on Social Security only receive six to seven hundred dollars per month. “They’ll never be able to afford hearing aids,” she explained.

That is why Sherman has stepped in. She owns approximately ten pairs of secondhand or reconditioned hearing aids. They all work, and she wants to give them to those in need for free.

Sherman stated, “If you can’t interact with others and your family, what kind of life do you have? So, it is not a luxury. I mean, in terms of price, it may appear to be one.”

People would only have to pay a $125 annual maintenance cost.

Hearing Solutions of Montana accepts hearing aid donations, which are also distributed to individuals in need.

Those donated must be less than five years old and have behind-the-ear hearing aids.