Hearing needs are going unheard for kids in Utah

PLEASANT GROVE — Two years ago, Norm and Taunya Paxton discovered silence had crept into their home — a silence that would forever change their life: They learned their middle child, Chance, was profoundly deaf.

"It's like being thrown into the deep end of the pool and not knowing how to swim," Norm Paxton said.

The discovery left the couple flailing in their efforts to confront the mixed messages they received from doctors, the lack of coordinated support from hearing advocacy groups and what they say is the surprising indifference of the insurance industry.

"There's absolutely no guidance," said Taunya Paxton. "It was worse than shooting in the dark."

Beyond coping with a new-found disability, the Paxtons were left to discover that hearing aids are not considered "medically necessary" by most private health insurance plans. Rather, they are largely viewed as "cosmetic" or an educational device best left for parents to pay for on their own.

Norm Paxton did his research, and while he found many plans offer secondary insurance or riders that cover dental, vision or even erectile dysfunction medication, hearing aids don't make the cut.

That can be problematic when the devices range from a few hundred dollars to as much as $7,200.

"Part of the industry's denial process is to look at it and say it is a cosmetic issue rather than a sensory issue," says Rich Harward, the state health department's manager for hearing, speech and vision services.

"Most plans pay for eyeglasses; very few pay for hearing aids," Harward said. "By exception, there are some out there who have helped, but that is by exception and by appeal."

The Paxtons, covered under Intermountain Health Care at the time, exhausted their appeals, having been told by IHC officials early this year it would be "irresponsible" for them to modify their plan to include coverage.

But IHC's refusal of coverage is not out of the ordinary.

"There just has not been the pressure for the major insurance plans in Utah to address it," said Harward. "There has not been enough of a groundswell."

Chance, with his bright blue eyes sporting long little-boy lashes, was not diagnosed with any hearing disability at birth.

As best his parents and doctors can guess, they believe a viral infection at the age of 1 left him profoundly deaf.