Like my writing? Wanna help out? The truth is, I don’t have a lot of money. Due to health issues I am unable to work, and my husband does the best he can with his low-wage job, but we still live from paycheck to paycheck and struggle to make ends meet. Ok, so now that you’ve heard my sob story, here’s the reason for the Tip Jar page:

My external equipment wears out and needs replacing on a regular basis. Unfortunately, my insurance does not currently cover these extra parts. Yeah, that was quite a nasty surprise. Replacement equipment is very expensive, especially without insurance. Below is a list of external parts that need replacing on a regular basis, and how much it costs for each item. Remember, I have to buy two of each, since I have an implant for each ear. I’ve also included about how often I need to replace the items.

• $150 – Auria PowerCell Slim, Silver (this is the battery that lasts half a day, so I need at least 2 each ear for one full day’s power supply) – Needs replacing every 12 months max (every 9 months preferrable)
• $195 – Auria PowerCell Plus, Silver (This is the battery that lasts all day long, so I only need one each ear for one full day’s power supply) – Needs replacing every 12 months max (every 9 months preferrable)
• $99.95 – Auria T-Mic, Silver – Needs replacing every 6 months
• $100 – $200 – Auria Headpiece – these are a little weird to obtain. First of all they are not available to order on bionicear.com’s website, like all the other stuff. The headpieces ARE covered by insurance, but only the first 2 I think, after that you have to buy them, and the information I have received as to the cost of them is between 100 and 200 dollars each. I have already exhausted my insurance-covered supply, so when the ones I am wearing right now give out, I will have to buy them. These need replacing every 3 to 6 months. So far, mine have fortunately lasted longer than normal and I was lucky enough to obtain new ones when I had my last surgery, but it won’t be long until I have to find a way to buy more.

As you can see, the upkeep is very expensive with no insurance. If one of these parts wears out and I have no spares, that means I cannot use the implant, which means no hearing at all. No hearing at all means I start gradually losing all the work my brain has done to learn to hear. Yup, if I go long enough without hearing, it’s like going backwards in progress in getting full use out of the implants. It can be very frustrating when I just don’t have the money to replace parts.

If you’d like to help out, every little bit helps! Just click the link below to go to PayPal and donate towards my personal PayPal account.

I’d like to help out via PayPal!