For months the VA has been putting out press releases about services to be offered at the new VA clinic in Lake Charles. 

Audiology services were always included in the list. Even in the Aug. 11 letter sent out to all local veterans from the VA, audiology (hearing aid services) was listed.

Now I find out that this is not true — there are no audiology services available. Even the Lafayette clinic, which has been open since December, has no audiologist available. There is a man that cleans and repairs hearing aids, but there is no audiologist.

Are there any plans to get an audiologist, possibly one to split time between the Lafayette and Lake Charles clinics?

Tammie Arnold, a spokeswoman for the Alexandria VA Health Care System, said the Lafayette Community Based Outpatient Clinic has a full-time audiology technician who can repair hearing aids.

Additionally, Arnold said, the Lafayette clinic offers “tele-audiology” services with an Alexandria VA Medical Center audiologist for five hours a day, five days a week. The audiologist appointments are for hearing aid fittings, checks and programming, she said.

“The new Lake Charles Outpatient Clinic will have tele-audiology with an audiologist from the Alexandria VA Medical Center for hearing aid fittings and checks/programing every Tuesday,” Arnold wrote in an email.

“Final setup of the equipment should be completed soon and tele-audiology will be available by the end of September.”

The clinic, at 3601 Gerstner Memorial Drive, is open 7:30 a.m.-4:30 p.m. Its phone number is 475-9500.

It offers laboratory, X-ray and women’s health services, along with mental health, physical therapy and dental care and an optical shop.

For more info: www.alexandria.va.gov.

 

Benefits available to some ex-spouses

I was married for 23 years then divorced. My ex-husband will be retiring and filing for Social Security benefits this year. As his ex-wife am I entitled to a portion of his Social Security?

According to the Social Security Administration’s website, divorced people whose marriages lasted at least 10 years may receive benefits on their spouses’ records if they’re unmarried; are 62 or older; their ex-spouses are entitled to benefits; and the benefits they’re entitled to for their own work are less than the benefits from their ex-spouses’ work.

“If you remarry, you generally cannot collect benefits on your former spouse’s record unless your later marriage ends (whether by death, divorce or annulment),” reads the site. “If your ex-spouse has not applied for retirement benefits, but can qualify for them, you can receive benefits on their record if you have been divorced for at least two years.”

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For more info: www.ssa.gov.

The Informer answers questions from readers each Sunday, Monday and Wednesday. It is researched and written by Andrew Perzo, an American Press staff writer. To ask a question, call 494-4098 and leave voice mail, or email informer@americanpress.com.