RedwoodAge.com

The campaign for a hearing aid tax credit is growing, with a leading nonprofit group launching a website to support the cause.

The proposal would allow a $500 federal tax break for each hearing aid, according to the Better Hearing Institute, one of several national hearing health organizations that have endorsed the idea. The group says 40 percent of people who don't use hearing aids now wouldbe more likely to purchase them if a tax credit was available.

Although 95 percent of people with hearing loss would benefit from hearing aids, less than one in four of those people currently use them, according to Sergei Kochkin, BHI's executive director. "Nearly two our of three adults with hearing loss cite financial constraints as a core reason that the do not wear hearing aids," he said.

More than 10 million older Americans have age-related hearing loss. Additionally, 1.4 million children have hearing problems.

Neither Medicare nor most state health programs pay for hearing aids. Including evaluations, fittings, adjustments and the device itself, the typical patient pays $1,800 for a new hearing aid, mostly out of their own pockets. About two-thirds of patients need two devices, which doubles the costs.

As a handicap, hearing has huge social costs. For example, average household income is $12,000 lower for homes where one of the workers has a hearing problem, reducing federal income tax revenue by $18 billion a year, according to a BHI study.

Children with undiagnosed hearing loss can cost schools an additional $420,000. They also face lifetime costs of about $1 million in lost wages, special education and health complications. Elders with hearing loss face increased isolation as well as higher overall Medicare costs.

The proposal for a tax credit has bipartisan support in Congress under House Resolution 2329, introduced by Reps. Carolyn McCarthy (D-NY) and Vern Ehlers (R-MI) and Senate bill 1410, introduced by Sen. Norm Coleman (R-MN).