For Canadian readers
In Canada, what you pay for hearing aids and cochlear implants depends on your province or territory. This page gives the broad picture, with Ontario and Quebec as examples. Then it covers what happens after switch-on and where practice at home fits. It ends with Canadian groups worth knowing. SoundSteps is our app, and it is on the list.
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Unlike hearing aids, cochlear implants can be covered by most provincial and territorial health plans. What is covered still varies by province and by your situation, so ask your cochlear implant program what you would pay.
Where you get one depends on your province. Ontario's is coordinated from Sunnybrook in Toronto, and British Columbia's adult program is at St. Paul's Hospital in Vancouver.
Replacement sound processors are a separate question. In Ontario, the Assistive Devices Program pays 75% of the cost of a replacement processor, up to a limit. Yours has to be broken and not worth repairing, and your surgery has to be at least three years ago.
Help with hearing aids is where provinces differ most. Two examples:
Ontario: the Assistive Devices Program pays 75% of the cost of hearing aids, up to a set amount per ear, for residents with a health card and a long-term hearing loss. Your income does not matter.
Quebec: the Hearing Devices Program, run by the RAMQ, covers buying, repairing and replacing hearing aids for people who meet its hearing criteria.
Most provincial and territorial health plans can cover a cochlear implant. Help with hearing aids varies much more.
Other provinces and territories set their own rules, so check with yours. Veterans Affairs Canada, workplace insurance and private health plans may also pay part of the cost.
Your audiologist or hearing aid provider knows the local rules. Ask before you buy, because some programs will not pay for a hearing aid you ordered before you applied.
Switch-on usually comes within a few weeks of surgery. Sunnybrook fits the sound processor within four weeks. In British Columbia, switch-on appointments can take up to two days.
The first sounds are often confusing. The BC program says people often hear sounds without knowing what they are. It also says that how much you understand at first does not predict how you will do later.
You go back several times in the first year while an audiologist adjusts your settings. Sunnybrook also offers auditory rehabilitation, then yearly check-ups after the first year.
In BC, your audiologist teaches you how to practise listening during switch-on, so you can keep going at home. Whatever your program gives you comes first. Use extra practice on the days in between.
Cochlear's Canadian site has exercises to do with a partner and phone practice with a recorded voice. If your family speaks French at home, SoundSteps also runs fully in French.
The provincial pages are the source for the funding details above. Check your own province's health ministry if you live elsewhere.
Ontario: help paying for hearing devicesGovernment of Ontario
The Assistive Devices Program rules for hearing aids and replacement cochlear implant processors, and how to apply.
Hearing Devices ProgramGouvernement du Québec
What Quebec's program covers, with a link to the RAMQ criteria.
How much do hearing implants cost?Cochlear Canada
A manufacturer's summary of what provincial plans may cover, and the costs to ask your cochlear implant program about.
Cochlear Implant ProgramSunnybrook, Toronto
Ontario's coordinating site for adult cochlear implants.
BC Adult Cochlear Implant Program supportsProvidence Health Care
Help with travel and costs, and local groups, for cochlear implant users in British Columbia.
Find a CHHA locationCanadian Hard of Hearing Association
A national non-profit for people with hearing loss. It has local branches and offers one-on-one mentoring.
Resources for adultsCochlear Canada
Listening exercises to do with a partner, and phone practice with a recorded voice in English and Spanish.
SoundStepsour app
Short daily listening practice with a Canadian voice, in a browser or on a phone. Free to start, and it runs in French too.
SoundSteps is ours, so read this part knowing that. It starts with pairs of words that differ by one sound, like ship and chip. Then it moves on to sentences, short stories and conversations. You can add background noise when you are ready.
People get better at the voices they practise with, so you can pick Stephanie, a Canadian voice, in Settings. There is a free version, and your first 7 days include everything, with no card needed. Use it whatever hearing device you wear, or none.
Tell your cochlear implant program or audiologist what you are using, so it fits around their plan.
FAQ
Usually, yes. Most provincial and territorial health plans can cover a cochlear implant, but what is covered varies by province and by your situation. Your cochlear implant program can tell you what you would pay.
No. Each province and territory sets its own rules. Ontario pays part of the cost for residents with a long-term hearing loss, and Quebec covers hearing aids for people who meet its criteria. Veterans Affairs Canada, workplace insurance and private plans may also help.
Yes. The Assistive Devices Program pays 75% of the cost of hearing aids, up to a set amount per ear, for Ontario residents with a health card and a long-term hearing loss. It does not look at your income. You start with a hearing test from an audiologist or hearing instrument specialist registered with the program.
Usually within a few weeks. Sunnybrook in Toronto fits the sound processor within four weeks of surgery. You then go back several times in the first year while an audiologist adjusts your settings.
Yes. BC's adult program teaches you how to practise at switch-on so you can keep going at home. Follow your program's plan first. Cochlear's Canadian site has free exercises, and SoundSteps, which is our app, has a Canadian voice and a free version.
Related reading
The free listening check runs in your browser, with nothing to install and no card. You can switch to a Canadian voice in Settings any time.
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