The 1997 change in administration of the Australian Government's Pensioner Hearing Aid Scheme, allowing clients to choose their own service provider, has made it possible to compare some characteristics of publicly and privately funded hearing aid provision. This paper presents the results of a survey of the severity of hearing loss among 330 consecutive fittings. Using 3 Frequency Average Hearing Levels (3FAHLs) in better and worse ears, comparisons were made of hearing loss severity in publicly and privately funded clients, in monaural and binaural fittings, and in new and return clients, as well as better/worse ear differences. Results of these comparisons are presented and discussed. Attention is also given to some implications of the relative mildness of the hearing loss of new clients.