You know the drill. You sit down with your financial advisor and discuss your income, savings, spending and everything in between. You have questions for your advisor and they have questions for you, but the most important one on your mind is “will I have enough money set aside to have a fulfilling retirement?”
When you think of your ideal retirement, does it include memorable experiences with your friends and loved ones? How about trying new restaurants with your friends, traveling, or spending time with grandchildren? These occasions,and retirement in general, will be far less satisfying if you have hearing loss and aren’t able to hear your friends and family. This is why we feel that retirement financial planning is missing an important component!
The statistics are surprising. At age 65, one out of three people has a hearing loss. In addition, there are 28 million people living with hearing loss in the United States alone and only 22 million have gotten the help they need by investing in hearing aids. Getting help is often put off because, once retired, people are living on a fixed income, which doesn’t allow for expensive purchases.
When you turn 65, United States citizens are eligible for Medicare. What isn’t widely known is that, in most cases, Medicare does not pay anything towards the cost of hearing aids. Depending on technology, hearing aids can range from a couple hundred to a few thousand dollars each, and they need to be replaced every 4-5 years (even with proper care and maintenance). Hearing aids are an investment, but they are an important one.
As Helen Keller said, “blindness separates people from things, deafness separates people from people.” When planning for retirement, chances are that buying hearing aids is not top-of-mind. We encourage you to make sure hearing healthcare is included in your financial planning so that you are sure to have a fulfilling retirement.
We are happy to check your insurance benefits during your free hearing consultation appointment, so contact us today.