DVA HEARING SERVICES · BUNDABERG

Hearing Care for Veterans in Bundaberg

Hearing tests, hearing aids and tinnitus support for DVA Gold Card and White Card holders, plus practical help if you are making a claim for hearing loss or tinnitus. We work alongside your advocate so nothing falls through the cracks.

Trying to get hearing loss and or tinnitus on your White Card?

If you are a former ADF member or veteran experiencing hearing loss or tinnitus, we strongly recommend contacting a local DVA advocate first to support your claim. At AIM Hearing Bundaberg, we work closely with experienced advocate groups.

• RSL Wide Bay & Burnett District Office (Maryborough Street) – 07 4151 0325 (rslqld.org)
• Bundaberg Legacy (Williams Road) – 07 4152 5958 (legacy.com.au)
• Defence Veterans Drop-In Centre (cnr Pitt & May Street) – 07 4153 4599
• Menagerie Advocate Services – 0409 481 525 (menagerieservices.com.au)
• As well as advocates across Hervey Bay, Gladstone, Agnes Waters and surrounding regions

Step 1: Contact a DVA advocate

Your advocate helps guide you through the claims process and makes sure the right paperwork is sent to DVA. This can save time and help avoid delays.

Step 2: Have your hearing and tinnitus assessed

As part of your DVA claim process, AIM Hearing can provide a comprehensive hearing and tinnitus assessment. If you do not yet hold a White Card and you are starting a claim, there is no charge for this assessment. If clinically indicated, we prepare a detailed audiology report recommending that hearing loss and/or tinnitus be accepted as a condition on your DVA White Card, and we work directly with your advocate to support the application.

Step 3: Get the DVA Diagnosis Form (D9287) signed by your GP / Doctor and return it to your advocate

If we believe your hearing loss and/or tinnitus should be added to your DVA White Card as a specific condition, AIM Hearing will send the DVA Diagnosis Form to the GP of your choice. Your GP must complete and sign the form, as AIM Hearing can’t sign it on your behalf. Once it’s signed, you’ll need to collect the completed form from your GP and deliver it in person, or post it promptly, to your advocate for processing. Doing this quickly helps avoid delays with your claim.

Step 4: DVA approval and hearing services voucher

While DVA may approve your condition under PAMT (Prior Approval for Medical Treatment), hearing treatment is delivered through the Australian Government Hearing Services Program (HSP). Conditions apply under the Australian Government Hearing Services Program. As DVA and HSP operate on separate federal systems, additional documentation may need to be forwarded to the HSP to generate your DVA Hearing Services voucher.

At AIM Hearing Bundaberg, we guide you through each step to help make your veteran hearing rehabilitation pathway as seamless, compliant, and stress-free as possible so nothing falls through the cracks.

HIGHER-TECHNOLOGY HEARING AIDS THROUGH DVA

Upgrading your hearing aids through DVA: an application, not an automatic entitlement (the D9398 application)

Since DVA introduced its Veteran Hearing Services Framework on 20 January 2025, we have met many veterans who were told by a mate that DVA “gave him new upgraded hearing aids” and expect the same. We understand why, and we want to be upfront: higher-technology hearing aids funded by DVA are an application that DVA assesses case by case. They are not an automatic entitlement.

We have explained the process below in DVA’s own terms, with links to the official DVA pages, so you can check every point for yourself.

How it works

1. Your hearing needs are assessed first. DVA’s guidance to hearing providers says most veterans’ hearing needs can be met through the Hearing Services Program, and providers must explore all suitable fully subsidised hearing devices first.
2. An application is only made if subsidised options cannot meet your clinical needs. Your provider must show why your needs cannot be met by fully subsidised hearing aids or assistive listening devices, and submit DVA form D9398 (Audiology Prior Financial Approval Request) with a clinical report.
3. Supporting evidence may be needed from your GP or specialist. DVA’s request form includes a medical referral step, so a letter or referral from your GP or specialist supporting the request may be required.
4. DVA reviews the request and makes the decision. DVA describes the Framework as ensuring fair and consistent decisions, so each request is assessed on its own merits.
5. Nothing is fitted until DVA approves it. DVA advises veterans that if there is a cost for a device, their provider must seek prior approval, and they need to wait for that approval before buying the device.

Upgrades need supporting evidence: two common examples

Whatever the upgrade, DVA needs a clear clinical reason why fully subsidised hearing aids will not meet your needs. The two requests we see most often are below.

1. Rechargeable hearing aids

Before we can apply for rechargeable hearing aids on your behalf, we need a letter from your GP, occupational therapist or specialist. The letter should:

• confirm the medical condition that affects you, for example arthritis, a tremor, reduced feeling in your fingers or reduced eyesight;
• explain that, because of this condition, you cannot manage changing hearing aid batteries on your own;
• state that, in their professional opinion, rechargeable hearing aids are necessary for you.

2. A higher level of hearing aid technology

Many veterans do well with fully subsidised hearing aids. If you have already tried fully subsidised hearing aids and had limited or no success with them, a higher level of technology may be worth applying for. The application needs to show:

• which fully subsidised hearing aids you have tried, and for how long;
• the specific difficulties you still have with them, for example following conversation in background noise;
• the clinical results from your hearing assessment and fittings that support the request;
• a supporting letter from your GP or specialist, where it is needed for your application.

Work and volunteering can make a real difference to your application

In our experience, some of the strongest applications come from veterans who have gone back into paid or volunteer roles where hearing clearly matters to doing the job properly and safely. For example:

• Police officers and other first responders, who work in fast-changing situations where missing a radio call or a shouted instruction can put people at risk;
• Hospitality and bar staff, who need to follow conversations and take orders in constant background noise;
• Lawyers and other professionals, who need to hear every word accurately in meetings, interviews or court.

If this sounds like you, tell us about your role at your appointment. A short letter from your employer or volunteer coordinator describing the listening demands of your work can also help. Your work situation does not replace the clinical evidence above, but it can show DVA clearly why fully subsidised hearing aids are not meeting your needs.

Please bring any letters with you, or ask your doctor to send them to us before your appointment. Without the right evidence we cannot submit the application, and DVA makes the final decision either way.

Why your mate’s result may be different from yours

Every application is based on the individual veteran: their hearing test results, how they hear in noise, their accepted service-related conditions, their day-to-day needs and the supporting evidence provided. Two veterans with similar-sounding situations can receive different decisions, and that is the Framework working as intended, not a provider choosing to say no.

What AIM Hearing will do for you

• Give you a full, honest hearing assessment and explain your results in plain English.
• Show you the fully subsidised options first, and tell you honestly whether they are likely to meet your needs.
• If your needs genuinely cannot be met by subsidised devices, prepare the clinical evidence and the DVA application with you, and work with your GP and your advocate.
• Keep you informed. We cannot promise an approval, because the decision is DVA’s, but we will make sure your case is presented properly.

Check it yourself: official DVA information

• DVA: Hearing services for veterans (prior approval, and waiting for approval before buying a device)
• DVA: Frequently asked questions for clients about the Veteran Hearing Services Framework (PDF)
• DVA news: New approach provides better, more timely access to hearing services
• DVA: Hearing service information for providers (the rules providers must follow)
• DVA form D9398: Audiology Prior Financial Approval Request
• DVA: Veterans’ Guide to Better Hearing (PDF)

Still unsure? You can call DVA directly on 1800 VETERAN (1800 838 372), or call us on 07 4153 1317 and we will talk you through it.

Already with another hearing provider?

Gold and White Card holders can move their hearing services to AIM Hearing Bundaberg. Start your transfer online — it takes about two minutes, and we will arrange for your file to come across from your current provider.

Need help understanding what to do next?

If you are not sure where to start, contact AIM Hearing Bundaberg and we can explain the process in plain English and point you in the right direction.

We will call you back within one business day. Shop 1/1 Heidke Street, Avoca, next door to Sugarland Plaza (Stockland Bundaberg). Monday to Friday, 8:30 am to 4:30 pm.