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VA Provided Hearing and Vision Benefits

Department of Veterans Affairs

The Department of Veterans Affairs will ensure access to audiology and eye care services including preventive health (care) services and routine vision testing for all enrolled veterans and those veterans exempt from enrollment.

Eyeglasses and Hearing Aids

The VA will provide eyeglasses and hearing aids to veterans who meet the following criteria:

• Veterans with any compensable service-connected disability.
• Former Prisoners of War.
• Purple Heart recipients.
• Veterans getting benefits benefits under Title 38 United States Code.
• Veterans who are qualified for an increased pension based on being permanently housebound and in need of regular aid and attendance.
• Veterans with vision or hearing impairment resulting from diseases or the existence of another medical condition for which the veteran is receiving care or services from VHA, or which resulted from treatment of that medical condition, e.g., stroke, polytrauma, traumatic brain injury, diabetes, multiple sclerosis, vascular disease, geriatric chronic illnesses, toxicity from drugs, ocular photosensitivity from drugs, cataract surgery, and/or other surgeries performed on the eye, ear, or brain resulting in vision or hearing impairment.
• Veterans with significant functional or cognitive impairment evidenced by deficiencies in the ability to perform activities of daily living.
• Those who have vision and/or hearing impairment severe enough that it interferes with their ability to participate actively in their own medical treatment and to reduce the impact of dual sensory impairment (combined hearing and vision loss).
  NOTE: The term "severe" refers to a vision and/or hearing loss that interferes with or restricts access to, involvement in, or active participation in health care services (e.g., communication or reading medication labels). The term is not to be interpreted to mean that a severe hearing or vision loss must exist to be eligible for hearing aids or eyeglasses.
• Those veterans who have service-connected vision disabilities rated zero percent or service-connected hearing disabilities rated zero percent if there is organic conductive, mixed, or sensory hearing impairment, and loss of pure tone hearing sensitivity in the low, mid, or high-frequency range or a combination of frequency ranges which contribute to a loss of communication ability; however, hearing aids are to be provided only as needed for the service-connected hearing disability.

Veterans meeting the eligibility requirements to receive health care are eligible for diagnostic audiology services and eye & vision care services. Veterans cannot be denied access to audiology services and/or eye & vision care services covered by the Medical Benefits Package even if they do not meet the eligibility criteria for hearing aids and/or eye glasses.

For additional information, veterans can contact the prosthetic representative at the nearest VA health care facility.