Free Hearing Support – How do funding schemes work?

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In the UK, individuals with hearing loss are entitled to free hearing aids via the NHS. Depending on your location, your GP may recommend another, alternative supplier who also provides free hearing aids.

Hearing aids are sophisticated pieces of technology but it’s also important to acknowledge their limitations over distance and in noisy environments. Some hearing aid users still struggle to hear on the telephone, in lecture theatres or perhaps in business meetings. The solution: assistive listening devices (such as Phonak Roger)!

Assistive listening devices don’t form part of free, NHS provision and are often purchased privately. But, in this piece, we explore government funding grants which make assistive listening devices more accessible- and in many cases free…

Currently, there are two main funding grants for hearing assistance:

  • Access to Work funding
  • Disabled Student’s Allowance

The main way to apply for any fund, including hearing assistance, is under the main government website and looking under ‘Benefits’. From here, navigate to the ‘Disabled People’ section to find out more about possible financial aid.

Access to Work

Hearing impairment is a disability that often affects a person’s ability to work and can damage their employment history. For that reason, ‘Access to Work’ funding was created to enable more people to work effectively, without difficulty and remove any barrier that a hearing impairment may create.

What are the conditions for applying to this fund? You must:

  • have a disability that affects your ability to work well.
  • be 16 years of age or over.
  • live in England, Scotland or Wales.

If your application is successful, the fund will be given to a person with the intention of purchasing disability equipment and does not need to be repaid. It is not a loan.  There is no fixed amount of funding for a Access to Work application as every individual needs a different level of support. Support can last for up to three years at which point a review will be conducted to see if needs have changed. If not, support will continue as long as your support providers see fit.

Disabled Student’s Allowance

The Disabled Student’s allowance applies to all higher education students who have a disability that impacts their learning. For this fund, you must have a long-term health disability, a registered learning disability or a mental health condition recognised by professionals. Every university has a person in charge of disability issues, a Disability Officer, who can discuss a student’s needs. The allowance helps with the cost of a note-taker, sign language interpreter and specialist equipment, as necessary.

Struggling with your application?

For more information or assistance applying for any of the aforementioned grants, please get in touch! Typically, individuals would be offered products like the Roger Pen or Roger Select via the funding schemes. Visit our product pages to find out more.

Gordon Morris offer a two year warranty on all our products, as well as a 10 day, no obligation trial.

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