Hearing Aids Are Medical Aids
Hearing aids fall under Hilfsmittel, the medical aids and appliances category, in your PKV tariff. That means cover depends on the aids provisions in your conditions, which vary widely. Some tariffs reimburse the full cost of a well-specified device, others apply a fixed cap per aid or per ear, and the gap between a basic and a premium device can be large.
What Decides the Payout
- Your tariff’s aids rules: full reimbursement, a percentage, or a fixed cap. This is the single biggest factor.
- Medical prescription: an ENT assessment and prescription establish the need.
- Device level: higher-specification aids cost more, and a cap can leave a top-up to you.
- Renewal interval: many tariffs limit how often a new aid is funded.
Check before you buy: get the prescription, then ask your insurer in writing what it will pay for the specific device. A quote from the acoustician plus a written cost commitment tells you your real out-of-pocket figure.
Keeping Your Own Cost Down
Ask the acoustician for options at different price points and match them against your tariff’s cap. If the aid you want exceeds the limit, you will pay the difference, so knowing the cap first lets you decide whether the extra features are worth it to you. Where cover is refused or capped tightly and you believe a higher-specification aid is medically justified, a documented objection with the ENT’s support is the route to challenge it.
Frequently Asked Questions
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