- Nov 26, 2025
- 1
- Tinnitus Since
- February 2025
- Cause of Tinnitus
- Unknown, but my right-side jaw doesn't feel aligned
I may get flooded with responses, and I actually hope so. Do any of you have Kaiser as your health provider?
If yes, I'd love to hear your experience with how well or how poorly Kaiser handles your case. I actually filed a grievance with Kaiser that they never responded to, asking what they do and do not support. The answer, surprisingly, was very vague. Digging a little deeper, Kaiser itself does not really do anything more here than act as your referrer. That doesn't mean they can walk away from responsibility. For Medicare, and I'm quite sure also for Healthcare.gov, your health provider is responsible for managing your care by ensuring you are serviced through their referral, meaning you go to someone they specifically send you to because they probably have a contract with that provider.
We, and most of the world, believe tinnitus is a health issue, and we would be correct. The confusing issue of who takes care of what is due to the grey area concerning who treats the jaw. The answer is: a dentist trained in jaw-related conditions. It may sound surprising, but it makes some sense. The larger issue is that Kaiser is your intermediary, which makes them the decision maker.
My motivation in all of this is the Lenire treatment. Kaiser relies on their old and traditional approach, which is an easy exit for a complex problem that has no known cure. Lenire only retrains the brain to not hear the tinnitus, which of course is positive, but it's very expensive at around $5K. No wonder Kaiser wants nothing to do with it, since they may have to absorb serious costs to approve Lenire. Nonetheless, I think they can and should do it.
Again, I'd love to hear from Kaiser members about their experiences. My ENT appointment is not for another month, and Kaiser is so backed up that it's not funny anymore.
If yes, I'd love to hear your experience with how well or how poorly Kaiser handles your case. I actually filed a grievance with Kaiser that they never responded to, asking what they do and do not support. The answer, surprisingly, was very vague. Digging a little deeper, Kaiser itself does not really do anything more here than act as your referrer. That doesn't mean they can walk away from responsibility. For Medicare, and I'm quite sure also for Healthcare.gov, your health provider is responsible for managing your care by ensuring you are serviced through their referral, meaning you go to someone they specifically send you to because they probably have a contract with that provider.
We, and most of the world, believe tinnitus is a health issue, and we would be correct. The confusing issue of who takes care of what is due to the grey area concerning who treats the jaw. The answer is: a dentist trained in jaw-related conditions. It may sound surprising, but it makes some sense. The larger issue is that Kaiser is your intermediary, which makes them the decision maker.
My motivation in all of this is the Lenire treatment. Kaiser relies on their old and traditional approach, which is an easy exit for a complex problem that has no known cure. Lenire only retrains the brain to not hear the tinnitus, which of course is positive, but it's very expensive at around $5K. No wonder Kaiser wants nothing to do with it, since they may have to absorb serious costs to approve Lenire. Nonetheless, I think they can and should do it.
Again, I'd love to hear from Kaiser members about their experiences. My ENT appointment is not for another month, and Kaiser is so backed up that it's not funny anymore.
