{"data":{"id":"us/38-cfr-17.149","jurisdiction":"us","citation":"38 CFR 17.149","heading":"Sensori-neural aids.","body":"(a) Notwithstanding any other provision of this part, VA will furnish needed sensori-neural aids (i.e., eyeglasses, contact lenses, hearing aids) only to veterans otherwise receiving VA care or services and only as provided in this section.\n(b) VA will furnish needed sensori-neural aids (i.e., eyeglasses, contact lenses, hearing aids) to the following veterans:\n(1) Those with a compensable service-connected disability;\n(2) Those who are former prisoners of war;\n(3) Those awarded a Purple Heart;\n(4) Those in receipt of benefits under 38 U.S.C. 1151;\n(5) Those in receipt of increased pension based on the need for regular aid and attendance or by reason of being permanently housebound;\n(6) Those who have a visual or hearing impairment that resulted from the existence of another medical condition for which the veteran is receiving VA care, or which resulted from treatment of that medical condition;\n(7) Those with a significant functional or cognitive impairment evidenced by deficiencies in activities of daily living, but not including normally occurring visual or hearing impairments; and\n(8) Those visually or hearing impaired so severely that the provision of sensori-neural aids is necessary to permit active participation in their own medical treatment.\n(c) VA will furnish needed hearing aids to those veterans who have service-connected hearing disabilities rated 0 percent if there is organic conductive, mixed, or sensory hearing impairment, and loss of pure tone hearing sensitivity in the low, mid, or high-frequency range or a combination of frequency ranges which contribute to a loss of communication ability; however, hearing aids are to be provided only as needed for the service-connected hearing disability.","path":["Title 38—Pensions, Bonuses, and Veterans' Relief","CHAPTER I—DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS","PART 17—MEDICAL"],"source_url":"https://www.ecfr.gov/api/versioner/v1/full/2026-08-25/title-38.xml","current_through":"2026-08-25","vintage":"","retrieved_at":"2026-08-27T02:25:50Z","sha256":"910dc19bcc4ed1c2e82cf8b534e4e5643ce39a480bdfa25d25793abb70129fee","source_id":"us-cfr","stale":true,"prev":"us/38-cfr-17.148","next":"us/38-cfr-17.150"},"notice":"GroundRules: Original legal text. Not legal advice."}