0 0 Deaf couple hit for €10,000 bills for hearing aids Tuesday 3 March 2026 A working Deaf couple with three young children is facing a €10,000 bill for hearing aids, which they say penalises them for working hard to move away from disability allowance. James Reardon a healthcare assistant, and Ruth McSkane a special needs assistant, say the high cost of replacing essential hearing aids places a huge burden on working families. Chime, Ireland’s national charity for Deaf and Hard of Hearing people, is highlighting the couple’s case ahead of World Hearing Day on March 3. It is calling for the immediate publication of the long-delayed Department of Health National Hearing Care Plan, which it says must include full, non-means-tested coverage of hearing costs. “Working adults who are Deaf are being penalised for doing everything society asks of them,” said Mr Reardon, from Portarlington, Co Laois. “Hearing aids are essential to us. Without them, we cannot do our jobs or fully participate in society.” The working couple struggle to raise the €10,000 required every five to seven years for new hearing aids. “We are not eligible for a medical card because we are just above the income threshold,” he said. A treatment benefit scheme which grants the couple €1,000 each per-pair, taking €2,000 off the €12,000 total, does not go far enough. “We worked hard to move off disability allowance, secure employment and buy our own home to raise a family,” added Mr Reardon. “To find ourselves paying out €10,000 simply to manage the cost of our disability and remain in work is deeply disheartening.” According to Chime CEO, Mark Byrne: “We need to see an equitable and well-resourced National Hearing Care Plan now, which must include full, non-means-tested coverage of hearing aids so families with hearing loss are not left struggling.” The charity also says there are a ‘staggering’ 13,868 children aged up to age 18 on the HSE waiting list for assessments for hearing loss. In addition, 12,849 adults are waiting on hearing assessments, a third of whom are waiting for over a year and are at risk of anxiety, depression, dementia, social isolation and hospitalisation as a result. The government is expected to come under opposition pressure this week to explain the absence of the promised Hearing Care Plan and steps to prevent hearing loss among children. “The government set up a Working Group in 2024 to develop a new National Hearing Care Plan with the specific purpose of looking at public-private audiology service provision to address these waiting lists, which have risen to a total of 26,717 adults and children combined,” added Mr Byrne. “But we have yet to see any findings.” Mr Reardon added that the National Hearing Care Plan must include full, non-means-tested coverage of hearing aids, so families like his are not left struggling. Online coverage: https://www.rte.ie/news/ireland/2026/0303/1561314-deaf-charity-chime/ https://www.independent.ie/irish-news/deaf-couple-facing-10000-bill-for-new-hearing-aids-feel-punished-for-working/a1448569148.html https://www.irishexaminer.com/news/arid-41803022.html https://www.msn.com/en-ie/health/other/irish-deaf-couple-hit-with-10-000-bills-for-hearing-aids/ar-AA1Xopuf