Yes — the VA will replace a hearing aid you have lost, at no charge, as long as you still qualify for VA-issued hearing aids and the loss wasn’t your fault. The rule sits in VHA Directive 1034, which allows replacement of devices “destroyed or lost due to circumstances beyond the control of the Veteran.”1VA.gov. VHA Directive 1034 – Prescribing and Providing Eyeglasses, Contact Lenses, and Hearing Aids Start by calling the VA audiology clinic that issued the original device.
What Counts as a Loss the VA Will Cover
Most everyday losses qualify. You dropped it in a lake, it fell out of your pocket at the store, it was stolen from your car — those are the kinds of situations VHA Directive 1034 was written to cover. You keep your eligibility for a replacement, and there is no charge for the device.
The VA’s leeway narrows when negligence or intentional damage is in the picture. A 1991 VA Office of General Counsel opinion confirmed the agency can decline to replace equipment a veteran willfully destroyed or negligently damaged.2Department of Veterans Affairs. VA Prosthetic and Medical Equipment Loan Program – Consequences of Damage to Loaned Equipment In practice, that rarely bites on a first loss. Where it does show up is a pattern: several lost devices in a short span, or clear signs the device was destroyed on purpose. In those cases, the chief of audiology at your facility reviews the request, and for harder calls the facility may consult the VA’s national Audiology and Speech Pathology Program Office before deciding.
One neighboring situation worth separating out: if your hearing aid is worn out or no longer working properly rather than lost, VHA Directive 1034 also covers that as a routine replacement. The VA doesn’t swap a working device just because a newer model was released.
How to Request the Replacement
Call the VA audiology clinic that fitted your original device. That is the fastest path, and it’s the one the VA expects you to use. The audiologist will confirm you still qualify, pull your records, and determine what device is clinically appropriate now.3VA.gov: Prosthetic & Sensory Aids Service. Hearing Aids
Before you call, put together what you know about the missing device: make, model, and serial number if you have them. Your clinic will also have this in your electronic health record, but coming in with the details speeds things up. If the hearing aid was stolen, file a police report and keep the report number. That documentation helps establish the loss was outside your control.
Expect the clinic to ask you to sign a short statement of loss describing when and where the device went missing. That’s handled locally at the clinic, not by mail.
The Forms Question
Searchers looking for the “right form” for a lost hearing aid usually run into two VA forms and get confused about which one applies. Neither is the starting point for a lost device.
- VA Form 1107 is for repairs and replacement parts on a damaged hearing aid you still have in hand. You mail the device with the form to the Denver Logistics Center.4Veterans Affairs. Request Hearing Aid Repairs and Accessories
- VA Form 2346a is strictly for batteries, wax guards, domes, and cleaning supplies.5Veterans Affairs. Order Medical Supplies
A completely lost device typically means a new clinical evaluation and fitting, which the audiology clinic coordinates directly. There’s no mail-in form that replaces that visit.
Timing and Cost
A new fitting takes longer than a repair. You need an audiology appointment, a decision on the right device, then ordering and programming, so the total can run several weeks depending on appointment availability and stock. Repairs mailed to the Denver Logistics Center generally come back around 20 days after the center receives them.4Veterans Affairs. Request Hearing Aid Repairs and Accessories Battery and supply orders take about 7 to 10 days.6U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. Order Hearing Aid or CPAP Supplies
The device itself costs you nothing. Hearing aids, repairs, and accessories are provided at no charge to eligible veterans.7Veterans Health Administration. VHA Audiology Services One catch: if your hearing loss is not service-connected and you’re in a priority group that owes copays for outpatient care, the audiology appointment can carry a $50 specialty care copay. Veterans being seen for a service-connected condition pay no copay regardless of rating.8Veterans Affairs. Current VA Health Care Copay Rates
Eligibility, in Case You’re Worried About It
If the VA already issued the hearing aid you lost, you’ve already been through the eligibility test in 38 C.F.R. § 17.149. Your replacement runs on the same qualifying category, as long as you still meet it. The categories include a compensable service-connected disability of 10% or higher for any condition, former prisoner of war status, Purple Heart recipients, veterans receiving benefits under 38 U.S.C. § 1151, veterans on an increased pension for aid and attendance or housebound status, hearing loss tied to another VA-treated condition or its treatment, significant functional impairment affecting daily living (age-related hearing loss alone doesn’t qualify here), and hearing loss severe enough that aids are needed to participate in your own medical care. Veterans with a 0% service-connected rating specifically for hearing loss also qualify if the impairment measurably affects communication.9eCFR. 38 CFR 17.149 – Sensori-neural Aids
If something has changed — a rating reduced, benefits ended — mention it when you call audiology so the clinic can check your current status before the appointment.
If the VA Says No
Denials on a first lost device are unusual, but they do happen, usually where negligence is suspected or eligibility is in question. Two different appeal tracks apply, depending on the type of denial.
Clinical Appeals
If the denial is a medical treatment decision — for example, the audiologist decides you don’t clinically need a replacement — you file a clinical appeal. Ask the patient advocate at your VA medical facility to start the process. You submit a written appeal with any supporting medical evidence, and the facility’s chief medical officer reviews it.10Veterans Affairs. Clinical Appeals of Medical Treatment Decisions
Decision Reviews for Benefits Denials
If the denial is a benefits decision — for example, that you no longer qualify for VA-issued hearing aids — you have three options:
- Supplemental Claim (VA Form 20-0995), if you have new evidence. No strict filing deadline.
- Higher-Level Review (VA Form 20-0996), if you think the original decision was wrong on the existing record. File within one year of the denial. You can request an informal conference with a senior reviewer.
- Board Appeal (VA Form 10182), to take the case to the Board of Veterans’ Appeals. File within one year. You don’t have to try the other two first.
The one-year clock matters. If a denial letter arrives and you think it’s wrong, act on it — the specific filing instructions are printed on the decision notice itself.11Veterans Affairs. Choosing a Decision Review Option