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Not sure what to make of comments by new Costco audiologist

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In reply to @nursebill48

I’ve seen 3 different private audiologists and 3 different techs/audiologists at Costco. The one that has helped me the most is the tech from Costco. You just never know who will be the “best” for you. We are all different and results vary dramatically. Some of the things the private audiologists have told me were unbelievable; one didn’t even know as much as I did (from this site) about the expensive aids she was trying to sell me. Further, one of my family members, who went to Costco, actually was saved medically by a Costco tech who, after checking, advised she go to her doctor before the tech would proceed with hearing aids. She advised seeing the doctor as quickly as possible. A tumor was found behind the ear which was then removed. Thankfully it was found before it could do further damage. As it was, the hearing in that ear was completely gone! Thankful for this Costco tech!

In reply to @Doggit

I think you will have a hard time finding very many folks who where not afraid of the surgery. So that’s perfectly understandable.

Going through the evaluation process doesn’t mean you have to go through the surgery unless you are ready. Take your time and communicate with folks who have gone through the evaluation. There are a few folks here that have done it. So get some advice from them.

I wish you well.

User990 offers great suggestions. Not all audiologists are up to date with the rapidly changing improvement in technology or criteria for surgery. I decided to take the plunge despite barely qualifying and never looked back. Yes, surgery is a process and some manage with less anxiety than others, but if continuing to be able to communicate well going forward is your goal, it might be worth the short term discomfort. Getting the full CI evaluation is about a 2 hour process and you are not obligated to get surgery if you qualify. It can give you more input to make your decision!

In reply to @Um_bongo

Hello. In response to your recommendation to try the Enzo for severe loss, I have a couple of questions. I am wearing the Philips at home, not at work. Im not liking them. One issue is the volume is too high and I am having issues with the app so sometimes can’t turn it down. Anyway, if the volume is too high for me, with an 85db receiver, does that mean that I don’t need a for severe loss? And of the HAs in Costco, which (if any) would you say are more suited to me? At the moment I am preferring the KS10. (Oh and well done Wales in the World Cup!)

If you like the KS10 you might prefer the Sennheiser Sonite R from Costco. It uses the same system as the KS10. More power is unlikely to help you hear your higher frequencies but frequency lowering can. You could also ask hearing aid fitter to tweak the frequency lowering on the Phillips but it works notably differntly than the KS10 and Sennheiser.

That’s what I thought. I undersstand more power in high frequencies is a waste of time if I have null response. I believe they only used a little but of . It is entirely possible that I like the KS10 because it is easy to use. I wouldnt say it is amazing. I just dont really know what I can feasibly expect to hear. I will look for reviews of the Sennheiser. What are the issues withe the Jabra and Rexton?

They’re both good hearing aids but neither have the same, fairly sophisticated system as the Sennheiser’s or KS10s.

Edited

Jabra (Resound) has just 3 settings. Rexton has more settings but is static. Sound Recover 2 is a dynamic system and lowers frequencies only when high frequency sounds are present. You are correct that they are all Frequency shifting systems. Edit: Frequency compression was the term I was looking for. If you want a ton of detail on this stuff see this: Frequency Lowering Fitting Assistants9

If you just want an intro, try the Audiology online classes.

In reply to @Doggit

Hey: we looked good in bits against the All Blacks too.

Costco’s range seems to be a bit adrift of the newest developments, but I’d agree with others in thinking about some .

The loudness issue you’re getting is probably a bit of gain averaging that your hearing aids do when fitted and what we call the downward spread of masking: which affects sloping losses.

Edited

It varies by user, degree of implementation and situation.

Some people hate Soundrecover as it can cause loss of fidelity in upper octaves, others don’t mind it. Transposition works differently: if you drop sounds by an octave and sit them on a harmonic, they sound normal but lower. Just as if they came from someone with a lower (bass) voice, which is quite clever if you think about it.

@MDB said:

“Best” is in the eye of the beholder

Exactly, as I’ve used all of them myself, I found I didn’t like SoundRecover because of the audible artifacts that I couldn’t get rid of (which was mentioned by Un_bongo) no problem with the others, I didn’t need to go anywhere as low as SoundRecover, which I think would even make the artifacts worse.

@tenkan said:

I didn’t need to go anywhere as low as SoundRecover, which I think would even make the artifacts worse.

For some of us Sound Recover was the only that even helped our profound high frequency hearing losses. I found it to do great for my hearing loss before getting cochlear implants.

In reply to @Um_bongo

Is how this works stated in the specs somewhere or would one have to dig into each brand’s white papers?

Is there a way to predict which approach will work better for a specific person or is it trial and error? Could the manufacturers not offer both options with a toggle?

In reply to @Raudrive

Yes Rick I remember you saying this a long time back, but as had the opportunity to try these side by side I was able to tell the difference, it’s the same with Autosence, it totally put me off Phonak models, remember I was a Phonakian for quite a while but moved onto ReSound and Signia for my needs.

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