Province walks back changes to hearing aid funding

The provincial government has walked back some changes to hearing aid funding after coming under criticism from industry specialists.

Last week, CTV News reported that hearing instrument specialists, who help patients get fitted for hearing aids, would no longer be allowed to authorize funding for assistive devices.

Instead, anyone in need of financial aid would have to go through an audiologist. Those in the hearing aid industry raised concerns that this would create a serious backlog for patients.

In a Tuesday update, the Ministry of Health said it's putting that plan on pause.

"Effective immediately, the hearing devices application forms requiring a prescriber signature and an authorizer signature that are currently in use to apply for funding for an authorized hearing device, will continue to be accepted," a statement reads in part.

Chris Arnold, president of the Association of Hearing Instrument Practitioners of Ontario, says there are still some lingering questions about the funding submission process.

"We have had tons of people not understanding what they can be doing, what they should be doing," said Arnold. "Some are still acting as business as usual, like sending the forms out to the physicians and getting it signed. We don't know if those ADP grants will get accepted or not because it's an online submission process."

The ministry adds that some of the changes are being put on pause to give time for further consultation with the hearing devices sector.

"We are really appreciative that they did this over the weekend on a Sunday night," said Arnold. "We really want to get back to the table to discuss these changes and how we can create a good path moving forward."