Use your private health cover towards better hearing

How private health insurance covers hearing aids in Australia

Hearing aids are an Extras benefit, not a hospital one. Across the 11 Australian funds listed further down this page, published hearing aid benefits run from $700 to $1,800, and percentage-based policies pay 60% to 80% of the invoice up to a capped limit. Most funds apply a 12-month waiting period and let you claim again every 3 years. Against a TellyHear hearing aid priced from $1,690 to $4,300, a benefit at the top of that range covers a meaningful share of one device — rarely the whole purchase, and almost never a pair.

Published benefit range

$700 – $1,800

Percentage policies pay

60% – 80%

Typical waiting period

12 months

Typical claim cycle

Every 3 years

What an Extras policy actually pays

Funds set their hearing aid benefit one of two ways. A fixed limit pays up to a dollar figure regardless of what you spend — Medibank publishes up to $1,200, HBF up to $700, CBHS Health Fund up to $1,600. A percentage benefit pays a share of the invoice up to a cap: Bupa up to 80% within a $1,200 limit, nib 75% up to $1,200, GMHBA 60% within a shared $1,500 annual limit. The percentage matters as much as the cap, because an 80% benefit on a $1,000 hearing aid pays $800, not the full $1,200 limit.

Two further structures change the number materially. Loyalty tiers raise the benefit the longer you hold cover — HCF publishes up to $1,800 with membership loyalty, Teachers Health up to $1,800 for a pair with membership tenure. Combined limits pool hearing aids with other appliances: Defence Health's $1,500 sits inside a limit shared with blood glucose monitors and orthotics, so a recent claim on another appliance reduces what is left for hearing aids.

Waiting periods on hearing aid benefits

A waiting period is time served on the relevant level of cover before the benefit becomes claimable. Most funds on this page apply 12 months. Medibank is the outlier at 36 months — three years of continuous Extras cover before a hearing aid claim can be made. Repairs are often treated separately and can carry a shorter wait of around 2 months. Upgrading to a higher level of Extras usually restarts the waiting period on the additional benefit, which is why upgrading immediately before buying rarely helps.

How often you can claim again

Hearing aid limits do not reset every January the way dental or optical benefits do. The common cycle across these funds is one claim every 3 years, expressed variously as one pair per person every 3 calendar years, two hearing aid appliances every 3 years, or each hearing aid item payable every 3 years. Medibank and ahm run a 5-year cycle. If you claimed a benefit towards hearing aids in the last three years, there may be nothing available now even though your policy lists a benefit — the date of your last claim is the number that decides it.

Four things to confirm with your fund before you buy

Published policy documents describe the product, not your membership. Your fund's call centre can confirm all four of these against your membership number in a single phone call, and the answers are what determine your actual out-of-pocket cost.

1. Are hearing aids included on my level of cover? A hearing aid benefit sits on higher Extras tiers, not on base cover.
2. What benefit do I have available right now? Ask for the remaining amount on your membership, not the policy's published maximum.
3. Have I served the waiting period? Confirm the date your hearing aid benefit became — or becomes — claimable.
4. When did I last claim for hearing aids? This sets your next eligible date under a 3-year or 5-year cycle.

Claiming with TellyHear

Buying online does not change how you claim. Your fund reimburses you against an itemised tax invoice, so the process runs in three steps: confirm your available benefit with your fund, choose your hearing aids with Lachlan Smith, our Senior Clinical Audiologist, then submit the paperwork we send after purchase. That documentation lists the device, the manufacturer's item details and the amount paid — the detail funds ask for when assessing a hearing aid claim.

Two points worth knowing before you claim. Benefits are paid as a reimbursement, so you pay in full at purchase and claim afterwards. And a fund's hearing aid benefit is separate from the Australian Government Hearing Services Program — if you are eligible for that, you generally cannot claim the same device through both.

Every figure above is drawn from the published policy information in the fund directory below and was checked in August 2026. Benefits change, and yours depends on your policy, membership type, state, years of membership and previous claims. Confirm your entitlement with your fund before purchasing.