This is the Easy Read version of this guide. It says the same things as the full guide. The sentences are short. The words are plain. Read the full guide if you want more detail.
Short answer: yes, hearing loss can count for the Disability Tax Credit, even if you wear hearing aids. The CRA looks at how you hear with your devices on.
People with hearing loss often tell me this: "I wear hearing aids, so I probably would not qualify for anything." That feels logical. If a device helps, it is easy to assume the story ends there. For the Disability Tax Credit, it does not.
The Canada Revenue Agency looks at how you actually hear in real life, even while you are using hearing aids or other appropriate devices. That one detail changes the whole conversation for a lot of Canadians.
Words on this page
- DTC means Disability Tax Credit. It is a tax credit from the Government of Canada. A tax credit lowers the tax you have to pay.
- CRA means Canada Revenue Agency. It is the part of the government that runs taxes and decides DTC applications.
- RDSP means Registered Disability Savings Plan. It is a savings plan for a person with a disability. The government can add grant and bond money to it.
- Audiologist means a hearing specialist. An audiologist tests hearing, fits hearing aids, and can certify the hearing section of the DTC form.
- Auditory processing means how the brain makes sense of sound. Some people hear the sound, but their brain has trouble understanding the words.
- Marked means the problem is big. It is still big even with medicine, therapy, or other help in place.
- Prolonged means the effects have lasted, or will last, for at least 12 months in a row.
Hearing is a basic activity of daily living
The Disability Tax Credit, often shortened to the DTC, is built around basic activities of daily living. Hearing is one of them, alongside speaking, walking, feeding, and mental functions necessary for everyday life.
Hearing is not a minor inconvenience. It is how we follow a conversation with a spouse, understand a grandchild on the phone, catch instructions at work, and stay connected to the people around us.
When hearing is markedly restricted, the effects reach into almost everything. People tell me about nodding along in conversations they only partly caught. Avoiding gatherings because group settings are exhausting. Feeling left out. The DTC exists in part to recognize that a marked restriction carries real extra effort and cost.
The test: spoken words in a quiet setting
Here is the test in plain words. A person may meet the hearing test when they are markedly restricted in hearing well enough to understand spoken words in a quiet setting, all or substantially all of the time, even while using hearing aids or other devices. The restriction also has to be prolonged. That means it has lasted, or is expected to last, at least 12 continuous months.
Notice the setting: a quiet setting. This is not about struggling in a loud arena, where almost everyone would struggle. It is about a calm room, one on one, where most people would follow spoken words without much difficulty. If you still cannot reliably understand what is being said there, all or substantially all of the time, that is the restriction the test describes. Our Easy Read guide on how the Disability Tax Credit works explains the broader picture.
The part people miss: you are assessed with your devices on
This is where so many people count themselves out too early. Needing hearing aids does not end the analysis. The CRA assesses your function with your devices in place.
The question is not whether hearing aids help at all. For many people they help a great deal. The question is what your hearing is still like while you are wearing them and using them properly.
If, with your hearing aids in, you still miss large parts of simple conversation in a quiet room, rely heavily on lip reading, or need people to repeat themselves constantly, that lived reality is what gets assessed. A device improving things somewhat is not the same as a restriction disappearing. Plenty of people who wear hearing aids every day are still markedly restricted. Their experience deserves a proper look.
Who this can include
The range is wider than many people expect. Profound hearing loss and deafness are the situations most people picture. They can fit where the restriction is marked and prolonged. Severe hearing loss can fit as well.
So can some auditory processing issues, where the ears pick up sound but the brain has difficulty making sense of spoken words.
The common thread is not a diagnosis on its own. It is the effect: a marked restriction in understanding spoken words in a quiet setting, all or substantially all of the time, even with devices.
An audiologist can certify the hearing section of the DTC form. That is good news, because an audiologist knows your test results and your history with hearing aids well. Describe your everyday reality honestly. Include the quiet room situations, the repetition, and the workarounds you have built into your life. Those details help a practitioner describe your restriction accurately.
Children can be affected in more than one way
Hearing loss in children deserves a special mention. A child who is deaf or hard of hearing may show effects under hearing. But the picture is sometimes broader. Speech development, language, learning, and social connection can all be affected. So effects may also be described under speaking or mental functions.
Every child is different. The form should reflect that child's real experience at home and at school.
For parents, this process can feel heavy on top of everything else you are carrying. Exploring the DTC is one more act of advocacy. It can open doors that support your child for years.
Why approval matters beyond the credit itself
The DTC is a non-refundable tax credit, so it can reduce tax owing. But for many families, the bigger story is what approval unlocks.
DTC approval is the gateway to a Registered Disability Savings Plan, the RDSP, one of the most powerful long term savings tools in Canada for people with disabilities, with government grants and bonds that can help a plan grow. For children, approval can also connect to the child disability benefit, an additional monthly amount for eligible families.
Approval is never guaranteed. No one should promise you a particular outcome. Each application is assessed on its own facts, and the wording on the form matters. If hearing loss shapes your everyday life in a marked way, even with your hearing aids doing their best, it is worth learning how the test works before you rule yourself out. This guide is for learning only. It is not financial or tax advice.
Our Easy Read guide on vision loss and the DTC covers the other sense many people ask about.
Common questions
I wear hearing aids. Can I still qualify?
Yes, you may. The CRA assesses your hearing with your devices in place. If you still cannot reliably understand spoken words in a quiet setting, all or substantially all of the time, the restriction can still be marked.
What is the hearing test for the DTC?
It asks whether you are markedly restricted in hearing well enough to understand spoken words in a quiet setting, even while using hearing aids or other devices. The restriction must also have lasted, or be expected to last, at least 12 continuous months.
Who can certify the hearing section?
An audiologist can certify the hearing section of the DTC form. An audiologist knows your test results and your history with hearing aids.
Can children with hearing loss qualify?
Yes, they can. A child's effects may be described under hearing, and sometimes also under speaking or mental functions, because hearing affects speech development, language, learning, and social connection.
This guide is part of our Easy Read guide to the RDSP and the Disability Tax Credit, where the whole plan comes together. See all the guides on the Easy Read page.
See where you stand: the free DTC eligibility checker takes about a minute. It shows whether you, or someone you care for, may qualify for the Disability Tax Credit. No signup, and no pressure.
A quick note: this post is for learning, not financial advice. For guidance on your own situation, book a free conversation. You don't have to figure this out alone. I'm here to help you through every step.