Catalonia stops paying for hearing aids from the age of 26: "It doesn't happen with any other prosthesis"

BarcelonaThere are only a few months left until Tania Galián turns 26, the age at which the public health system stops paying for hearing aids. These prostheses cost between 2,500 and 7,000 euros, depending on the degree of deafness and, like any electronic device, on the quality of the sound it captures and amplifies. "It's money we could put towards a mortgage, a car, or savings," complains Galián, who was born with profound deafness in both ears.

She normally uses a hearing aid for her left ear, which is currently being repaired, and although she doesn't know how much it will cost, she does know that the expense will come out of her own pocket. So now she only hears with her left ear, thanks to a white cochlear implant [an electric device], which intentionally stands out against her dark hair pulled back in a bun. It's her way of provoking questions from strangers, of "making deafness visible," the "most hidden and most discriminated-against disability," she says. She has decided to customize her next implant to make it a "fashion accessory".

In Catalonia, 35,786 people have a recognized hearing disability, but an INE survey indicates that more than 174,000 Catalans over the age of six report having hearing problems. Aging and overexposure to noise will accelerate an increase in hearing deficiencies in the population in the coming years.

"It is unheard ofthat the health system abandons people who need a hearing aid when they turn 26, this doesn't happen with any other prosthesis," denounces Raimon Jané, president of the Federation of Catalan Associations of Families and People with Deafness (ACAPPS), who this week has asked Parliament to put an end to this "historical discrimination and violation of rights" against the group.

In fact, it's not that hearing aids are always free. Up to the age of 26, the Department of Health includes them in a catalog of orthopedic aids and covers the price of a model between 1,200 and 2,250 euros, but if the user wants to improve its features – for example, sound quality – they must bear the difference. Health has financed 769 hearing aids.

"It is not a benefit, it is health"

From the age of 26, it is no longer a universal benefit and it is the Department of Social Rights that offers financial assistance bordering on 1,000 euros. As it is governed by a public call, however, there are delays in payment. In the case of those over 65 years of age, they are required to have had their hearing capacity recognized before this age and only low incomes can benefit.

The head of ACAPPS does not agree that the hearing aid should be treated as a "social benefit" because it is a "health" element, prescribed by an otorhinolaryngology service, nor that every year one has to wait to see if there is a budgetary item. The difference between wearing one and not wearing one "is being isolated, hearing nothing but silence or not hearing well enough," complains Galián.

L'ACCAPS demands "a profound change" in the system so that deafness and hearing aids receive the same treatment as other disabilities and prostheses. "Can you imagine someone whose hip fails having to pay for the prosthesis before entering the operating room?", Jané asks.

The Spanish and Catalan model is not the usual one in neighboring countries. In France and the United Kingdom, the administration finances 100% of the cost of the device, while in the Netherlands and Germany, the administration assumes 75%. However, in none of these countries is there an age limit and everyone receives the same treatment.

Few implants

Another complaint from the group is that, although technology to improve the hearing of deaf people has advanced greatly, public financial aid is "stagnant", which condemns a large number of people to use low-end hearing aids or, when they have already exceeded the age limit of 26, to have to use the same device beyond the recommended four years. "There are people who cannot afford them and in families with several members who need hearing aids it is a drama," points out Jané. Thus, credit companies advertising special loans for these users are common.

Unlike hearing aids, cochlear implants are completely free. They consist of a visible part that is placed on the skull and another inside the ear. It is the specialist who determines, based on clinical criteria, who is a candidate for surgery in the few public hospitals that perform the procedure. "The problem is that so few operations are performed that the waiting list is over a year, too long for someone who cannot hear," points out Jané, who also criticizes that Catalonia is among the communities with the lowest rate of these implants.

Galián explains that many young people are unaware that there is an age limit, but those who know it are rushing to get devices that are useful to them for clearer and crisper hearing. The young woman uses a microphone for the phone and another to amplify the sound of her interlocutor. "You know those on TikTok who ask how much the dress you're wearing costs? I'd tell them I'm wearing 20,000 euros on me," she laughs. In addition to devices, deaf people are also not guaranteed speech therapy.