High hearing aid prices are no laughing matter, and even health insurance can’t always help. We're living in an era where hearing aids cost upwards of six times more than expensive technology. So what happens when your health insurance won’t help at all?
Meet Aaron “Garth” Simko of Denver, Colorado. He grew up with Treacher Collins syndrome, a rare congenital disorder that often includes conductive hearing loss, as well as an underdeveloped jawbone and sometimes vision problems. This September, one of his bone conduction hearing aids stopped working and the other one is in bad condition, but to buy new ones, he would have to pay $9,000, which is money he doesn’t have. So Aaron started an Indiegogo campaign and is trying to raise that amount by December 5th.
Despite the limitations he faced from Treacher Collins—including being bullied when he was young because of how he looked—he has still pushed past and done everything he can to live life normally—in fact, he is an avid musician and can often be caught on the streets on Denver’s 16th Street Mall playing his guitar, especially now that he’s trying to spread awareness about his fundraiser to combat high prices of hearing aids. As part of his Indiegogo fundraiser, Aaron is providing “perks” to people who donate—for example, a custom guitar pick for those who donate $15, a custom guitar pick necklace for those who donate $30, and 3 guitar lessons for $150.
We reached out to Aaron to hear about his situation and his fundraiser.
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High hearing aid prices are no laughing matter, and even health insurance can’t always help. We're living in an era where hearing aids cost upwards of six times more than expensive technology. So what happens when your health insurance won’t help at all?
Meet Aaron “Garth” Simko of Denver, Colorado. He grew up with Treacher Collins syndrome, a rare congenital disorder that often includes conductive hearing loss, as well as an underdeveloped jawbone and sometimes vision problems. This September, one of his bone conduction hearing aids stopped working and the other one is in bad condition, but to buy new ones, he would have to pay $9,000, which is money he doesn’t have. So Aaron started an Indiegogo campaign and is trying to raise that amount by December 5th.
Despite the limitations he faced from Treacher Collins—including being bullied when he was young because of how he looked—he has still pushed past and done everything he can to live life normally—in fact, he is an avid musician and can often be caught on the streets on Denver’s 16th Street Mall playing his guitar, especially now that he’s trying to spread awareness about his fundraiser to combat high prices of hearing aids. As part of his Indiegogo fundraiser, Aaron is providing “perks” to people who donate—for example, a custom guitar pick for those who donate $15, a custom guitar pick necklace for those who donate $30, and 3 guitar lessons for $150.
We reached out to Aaron to hear about his situation and his fundraiser.
