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New Sam's hearing aids - Bernafon Encarta 400 & NuEar NXG (Starkey AI 24)

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In reply to @OcramSagev

Does this mean that they are available in all Sam’s Club locations now? I’m a long distance from Costco, but within driving distance of two Sam’s Club locations, so I’m excited to see the rebranded Starkey Edge available (only Genesis was available when I got mine, and I’ve had Bluetooth issues with my Genesis aids, so I really want to try Edge or Omega).

If the NuEar aids are like Starkey’s Audible brand, the aids may be locked.

If unlocked is important to you check to see.

I called the local Sams Club earlier today. The posts here are accurate: 90 day trial, 3 yr. warranty, not locked, no charge for post adjustments, and not sure yet about my anthem advantage plan. He took my name and phone no. and promised to call me back as soon as he can find out. (In just a few days he said)

He has the NuEar NXG 24 in stock for $1699.
I asked him about the rumor going around the city (Roanoke) that a Costo will be built close to here soon. He said he had heard about the rumor and told me that Costco did a good job with ’s, and that Sams will be a good competitor. I appreciated that and now Sams is first on my list as the place to go.

So thanks again for these posts.

In reply to @tenkan

I am a bit confuse on these 2 models, it seems like they are offering basic and advanced . So at the end of the day, it is intent 1 and 2(maybe 3)? By the way,their return policy is not as good as Costco, 3 mo vs 6 mo. I believe Costco also offer 3 yr lost coverage without out of pocket, Sam only offer 2 yr and $200 self pay.

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Not much confusion really, if you look at the Encanta range, there’s 4 models from entry (100) to premium (400) so if you were to try and compare with intent 1 to 3 would be as close as you could get them, Sonic Radiant 4 and Phillips has 3, so your better off comparing those with bernafon from Sam’s.

Edited

In reply to @FlyingTY

I think we need to look at this with a wide angle lens:

(1) Many people are members of Sam’s Club and not Costco . Some (as someone else said above ) do not have a Costco nearby but they are close to Sam’s.
(2) NationsHearing has partnered with Sam’s Club . NationsHearing partners with several insurance companies ( Aetna is one). If they take insurance , this is a big advantage for Sam’s over Costco.
(3Their hardware offerings are highly competitive. A representative here mentioned that they were planning to introduce more models. Bernafon is not a private label. This likely means that a private audiologist who sells Bernafon can service the aids from Sam’s. Alternatively, someone from outside the US can purchase the Bernafons and return to their country, where Bernafon partners exist.

(4) Sam’s Club has a deal right now: $15/membership vs the $60 for Costco. Some people are all about saving money.
(5) I believe that many Sam’s Clubs have audiologists. If that’s the case, they could address issues that Costco can’t, such as tinnitus.
(6) I would love to know how long is the waiting time for an appointment . Last week I’ve heard that the wait at a Costco near me is 3 months .
(7) Sam’s is owned by Walmart and they have huge power in the marketplace with international presence . Maybe the next step is to have audiology centers in Walmart .

I’m delighted that we now have more than one high-volume player that sells devices priced under $2,000.

BTW: I’ve never been to a Sam’s Club. There are none near me.

Thanks for the reply. I have both stores nearby and memberships for both. I bought the Jabra Pro 30 but returned it after a few months. I’m really curious about when the NationsHearing partnership will start, as my insurance might cover it, which would be great news. Do you think they might offer Phonak or Resound hearing aids in the future?

Phonak : unlikely (see posts from @hearingspecialist62 above — they already sell Unitrons, a cousin of Phonak ). The same posts also say Sam’s will have others brands in the future.

Your insurance : per the posts I mentioned , yes (within a year)

I believe Costco’s loss coverage is one replacement for each ear if lost in 2 years or less. A 2nd replacement for one ear or a replacement after 2 years is on the customer.

We’re closer to Sam’s than to Costco. Costco treats us as customers. Sam’s is darker, so it seems dirtier (and may be), and there’s only one checker at the exit, so standing in line as a potential shoplifter takes a lot longer than at Costco. The Sam’s experience is not pleasant.

That’s just me, though, one data point.

I have both Costco and Sam’s Club near me. tried the Bernafon Encanta 400 hearing aids at Sam’s Club, and I liked them as much as a Phonak hearing aid I trialed via a doctor of audiology. Also, I met a Sam’s Club a hearing aids specialist that I like. I met two different aids specialists at Costco, and I did not feel like I would be in good hands with either of them. If you are lucky to have both Sam’s Club and Costco within reasonable distance from you, I’d try them both out. Otherwise, this seems like a good time to consider buying hearing aids from Sam’s Club. I was feeling frustrated until I gave Sam’s Club a try.

In reply to @rjhoughton

I checked one of the two local Sam’s Club locations today, and both brands were on display at the not staffed Hearing Aid Center. Same pricing we’ve seen in this thread. There were NO hearing aids on display at all. The display area was there, but totally empty. The hearing aid batteries were stocked in the regular battery endcap.

over the last 10 years I’ve tried different vendors including private, non profit, and Costco. In 2016 at Costco Denver I tried the Bernaphone (which subsequently became a European brand to be substituted at Costco by Phillips) which I liked but wasn’t ready for hearing aids. I discovered that I liked the Oticon (at a private vendor) in that the sound felt more natural but not the price. Doing some research I found that there were similarities to the Phillips at Costco. So. In June of 2021 at Costco I was talked into trying the Jabra (new to Costco then) with which I had technical and sound issues and returned. Then in 10/21 I purchased the Phillips and have been very happy with them and the service at Costco. I am now looking to purchase a new pair as mine are out of warranty. I did not like the Lyric(?) at Sam’s Club (which I tried in the store). Now that Sam’s is carrying the Bernaphone at a bit higher price I was intrigued with that as an option I’ve been very happy with Costco over the last 5 years. They have several personnel at Costco while Sam’s here has just one employee. I understand that the personnel can vary but overall my experience at Costco and with my Phillipsfor the last 5 years has been very satisfactory and I plan to purchase another pair of Phillips at Costco

With the launch of the Oticon Reveal next week and the update to the Philips hearing aids app to include the same new feature as the parallel update to the Oticon app, it will be interesting to see when the new Phillips 9060 will hit Costco.

In reply to @tenkan

Channelfree will provide a particular sound quality that you may or may not prefer. ~40% of hearing aid users have very particular sound preferences. You might not be one of those people. For people who do fall into that category it is good that there are options.

In reply to @hearingspecialist62

This isn't quite correct. Speech processing/gain modelling still uses the Channelfree approach. They don't emphasise the channelfree branding anymore. Noise management has been occurring in parallel using a different approach. Bernafon engineers need to get together with their marketing people because they're not very good at communicating how their tech actually works.

Well, I have not been able to follow this very well. This "channel" stuff is over my head.

Just tell me one thing. If I were to go the route again, how do I know whether or not (reading websites at hearing companies is not my "cup of tea") I have aids that process the sound correctly? I'm getting too old to follow all this "new" technology, anyway. Are there any others out there who have this trouble? (I'm 88 yr. old)

I'll do my best to read the posts here, but I probably follow about 40% of what they say.

The best thing that you can do is try multiple different types of signal processing.

Around 40% of hearing aid users have a strong preference for a particular style of signal processing.

Widex processes sound very differently to every other manufacturer, using temporal-based processing so if you've never tried them and you do and find them much better then you know that is the right strategy for you. If you dislike Widex, or aren't fussed you'll more easily accept the other brands that use frequency-based processing.

Given that 40% of hearing aids end up in drawers and not all of that is to do with how well they're fit, getting a device that is acoustically well fit and meets your sound preferences is important for long term success.

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