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My Advantage insurance requires 4 years to elapse before it will pay for new aids. My (Audicus) Spirits are now almost 3.5 years old. They are “just o.k.”, and have served me fairly well. But I’ve noticed that in a room meeting where there are 4 or 5 persons at a table, I have trouble with voices being clear.

So, what is your advice for me? It will be late November of this year before I am able to get new aids. (insurance will pay $1200 toward them). I called the company yesterday, and they have agreed to send me a list of companies that support their claims.

The question I have is: If my aids were to need repairing before Nov., then should I pay the price for that, or should I just buy “cheap, otc aids” that will be good for, say a year, until I find the high tech ones that work well for me for another 4-year period?

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Edited

If you have a Costco nearby, I would buy a pair of their hearing aids today if you think your current ones might die. You have 180 days to return them for a full refund. I believe they will even refund the cost of your membership if you wish.

I suspect you will find that a private audiologist will charge between $4,000 and $6,000 for a pair of top-of-line hearing aids. But once you get the list of companies that take your insurance, you can call them to see what their price for the hearing aid you are interested in will cost.

You can go to Ziphearing to get a general idea of the cost of the hearing aid you are interested in. They are generally on the lower price end for hearing aids. Your local audiologist will probably want more money for the same hearing aid.

I’m not sure how beneficial you’ll find the $1200 insurance benefits with a limited list of providers. If cost is a major concern I second the idea of going to Costco.

Edited

I agree. However, if the Phonak Sphere is desired, then Costco doesn’t sell that model of hearing aid.

I also depends on how far away the Costco is for adjustments.

For help in meetings, Starkey makes a ‘Table Mic’ accessory that also works with the Soundgears sold at some Costcos; it doesn’t seem to be -compliant, so you’d need Starkey/Soundgear .

ReSound makes the ‘Mulit-Mic+’ that is Auracast compliant, so it will connect to ReSound/Jabra/Beltone/etc. HAs and, per ReSound, should connect to any other Auracast-compliant HA. It’s $240. I have the previous model, and it really helps me in meetings, but it connects only to ReSound/Jabra/Beltone/etc. HAs..

Phonak makes the Roger series of devices, but I’ve never seen or used them. The sound quality is reportedly great.

If your co-pay is over $1700, Costco is a great choice, just as others have mentioned.

None of the Audicus aids are superior to the Costco ones (Audicus aids are a gen older or more). I think the Spirit is a rebadged older Unitron (cousin of Phonak) and the equivalent Costco model (Sennheiser Rise) is significantly better.

If the aids need repairing, cross that bridge when you get there—they might not break until November. It really depends on how satisfied you are with your current aids (sounds like you are not) and the cost of the repair.

is not able to cover your loss. Look for prescription aids. If you are at all handy with technology, consider getting aids off second hand market and program them yourself. The category here can help you get on your way.

WH

@comeagain said:

It will be late November of this year before I am able to get new aids. (insurance will pay $1200 toward them). I called the company yesterday, and they have agreed to send me a list of companies that support their claims.

I took a look at your current aids and how much they cost for a pair. If my math is correct you will have to come up with 12-14 hundred dollars and your 1200 insurance money to pay for lower technology hearing aids.

We have members who went through the needed paperwork to get their insurance to pay for Costco hearing aids. This would be great for you if you can. Otherwise you could buy much higher technology hearing aids at Costco for about the same out of pocket money you would pay for the lower technology aids through your insurance recommendations.

Costco seems like the best option if you have one nearby. If not…keep in mind that aids need dialing in at the start and that requires going in to see a provider in person (unless you diy.) And then if cleaning or other issues arise, the same.

I see an independent shop and pay more up front. But they’re located 10 minutes from my house. Moreover my providers know me and my needs (I’m a musician.) they have my history and settings on record. they allow me to pay for new aids interest free over one year. It’s easy to get an appointment and they have walk in hours for cleanings or emergencies. All of this is free. In short I pay more up front for necessary expertise and easy service. Most importantly for me, finding an audi who understands musician programs is priceless and not easy to do.

is not a route I care to go down. Too frustrating and time consuming and fraught with mistakes on my end. Others who enjoy playing with tech make this work.

In reply to @Raudrive

Thanks for the advice. The distance to Costco is 90 miles (Roanoke, Va. to Greensboro, NC) so those who recommended Costco are appreciated. I will call them and ask a few questions about (brands, warranty, Dr. of Audiology on site, Rem measurements, etc.) Heck, 180 day trials, done twice, would almost take me to November (if I were a Hooligan type person)

If my aids get no worse than they are now, I will probably wait until Nov., because as I’ve aged my activities at public places decreased drastically.

@comeagain said:

My Advantage insurance requires 4 years to elapse before it will pay for new aids. My (Audicus) Spirits are now almost 3.5 years old. They are “just o.k.”, and have served me fairly well. But I’ve noticed that in a room meeting where there are 4 or 5 persons at a table, I have trouble with voices being clear.

So, what is your advice for me? It will be late November of this year before I am able to get new aids. (insurance will pay $1200 toward them). I called the company yesterday, and they have agreed to send me a list of companies that support their claims.

The question I have is: If my aids were to need repairing before Nov., then should I pay the price for that, or should I just buy “cheap, otc aids” that will be good for, say a year, until I find the high tech ones that work well for me for another 4-year period?

That’s a really common situation, especially the difficulty in small group conversations around a table.

One option (alongside your current aids) is to use a setup. Instead of trying to amplify everything, you place a small mic closer to the people speaking, and it streams the sound directly to you. That can sometimes help with clarity in group settings.

I’m the co-founder of Jabees, and we’ve developed something along those lines called the HearLink Essential Kit10 (wireless mic + bone conduction headphones). It’s not a replacement for hearing aids, but some people use it in situations like meetings or restaurants where distance and background noise make things harder.

It might be worth exploring something like this as a temporary or complementary solution while you’re waiting for your next set of aids.

Well, I’m waiting before I make a decision anytime soon. Just to help me (for s**ts and giggles), I decided to investigate what 2026 has in store for aids, according to experts. I found out that by just asking the question on google, I got this answer (for features in 2026):

“Health Monitoring1: Sensors will track physical activity, monitor heart rate, and measure body temperature, providing a comprehensive view of the user’s wellness.

1

Edited

(1)There are new rules regarding copying and pasting answers to this forum. It might be a good idea to review them.

(2) The features you mentioned are already available. For instance, Starkey has them. Neither of these features is relevant to helping people with their hearing loss, in my opinion (although they are useful additions). In my view, this is an example of an AI tool providing an irrelevant answer.

(2) An Apple Watch can be found for less than $300, although prices vary. Non-Apple smartwatches are also available for less than that. In contrast, hearing aids can cost thousands of dollars, so I don’t understand the price similarity you mentioned.

Yup. Starkey has been doing this for some time. Unfortunately, the health sensing is not available in the Soundgear AMPs that Costco is selling.

At first, I thought it was a gimmick. I think my phone will detect falls, and I can easily connect a heart rate monitor (even at a professional level) to my phone. My bike ‘puter will detect falls and attempts to steal it and notify my emergency contacts in the 1st case and me in the 2nd.

But Starkey seems to be conceiving of a whole system of health monitoring, and it makes some sense - one device to detect emergencies might be better off than a button to push. My mom spent about 18 hours on a floor when she was 97 because she was too proud to wear her call button. If her had detected that, she’d have been a lot better off.

Mom is the same way,” I’m not like that lady in the commercial “ — problem solved with an Apple Watch , she loves it .

He is referring to the feature that is available in the phone app. (App features don’t get turned off or on in the programming software).

The lack of those health features was confirmed by the head of hearingtracker in (Abram Bailey) in another thread.

The Rexton app also lacks the health features that the Signia app has. Cutting app features for some Costco aids is not new.

IDK … my Jabra Pro 10 manual describes how to turn on the tinnitus feature, even though Costco won’t do that. Alas, the Pro 30 manuals I’ve seen are not as detailed; maybe the tinnitus feature is still available in the 30s. IDK where my Pro 10 manual is, so I can’t check.

The Soundgear AMP manual is pretty thin; it doesn’t mention the health features. The My Starkey manual is also thin, but it covers the health features. It shouldn’t be difficult to remove the health software from the Soundgear AMPs. If the hardware is in the Costco version, I imagine someone will figure out a way of turning it on and controlling it. Otherwise, I would rely on the docs as published, which say ‘no fall detection, et.’

Speaking of hearing aids versus smart watches, I wanted to also know if there would be monthly charges for the fall detection aids which allows calls from emergency personnel.

I know that most smart watches do charge when calls are made by selected people, such as family members or 911 calls. It seems that pricing details varies from company to company and one must contact them individually for that.

So, it seems to me that this feature is not a good reason to buy this particular aid, but instead, search for a good smart watch, since there are a few which do not require a monthly fee.

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