Widex Clear 440 vs Rexton Insite. Please help me

@silver said:

I recently went to an audio because of a promotion by mail. It was an Audiology Center and the Dr was very thorough, helpful and knowledgeable. She spent quite some time examining my hearing and testing it. In the end she fitted me with the Widex Clear 440 HAs and let me take them home to test them. I had explained to her that I would definitely be trying out the Costco products as well because of the price factor. She knew this ahead of time and went ahead with the hearing examination, etc.

The instruments seem to work very well, except for one night when we went dancing and the music was loud. It set up a horrible noise/feedback situation and I ended up taking the HAs off and putting them in my pocket.

Today I went to Costco and got fitted with the Rexton Insite HAs. The audio there did not spend nearly as much time with my hearing examination, etc. She just gave me a hearing test to compare the results with my previous results from an exam there in March.

Anyway, the Rexton HAs are almost unnoticeable as far as a hearing enhancement. They don’t seem as loud as the Widex. Particularly with some sounds like crinkling paper, water running, and ambient noise. Of course, the Costco audio made deliberate adjustments to reduce those types of sounds. But still, the Widex seem to amplify sound more. Speech is also easier to hear and understand with the Widex because it’s louder(?).

Anyway, the Widex HAs will cost nearly $6K if I buy them, while the Costco Rexton HAs cost less than $2600. Obviously, I am very motivated to make the Rexton units work. Is there a difference in quality or design that would never allow the Rexto Insite to equal the Widex Clear 440? I am pretty sure I can return to Costco and get the HAs reprogrammed for more amplification. Also, I can probably get the Widex tuned to eliminate that problem I experienced.

Please give me your opinion on this so I can make and informed decision.
I have hearing loss in the higher frequencies, more so with my left ear. My low frequency hearing is pretty good. Both audios have the same results from the tests.

hi i’m happy you are testing HA from both companies…please try to get advanced HA from Starkey or Phonak then decide which HA is suitable for you as i’m wearing Starkey CIC model Ignite 30 which is great man otherwise try xino model or higher s-series with IQ for speech clarity!!

@prashanth_venkataswa said:

hi i’m happy you are testing HA from both companies…please try to get advanced HA from Starkey or Phonak then decide which HA is suitable for you as i’m wearing Starkey CIC model Ignite 30 which is great man otherwise try xino model or higher s-series with IQ for speech clarity!!

Quit spamming the forum by pushing Starkey and Phonak.

Your post is no help to the orginal poster who asked for help between Widex & Rexton aids. They are both brands that have many satisfied users.

@Um_bongo said:

I’d also ask for a deal on the Widex 330, I bet you can’t tell the difference.

You are right, at first I thought there was a big difference with the Widex offering superior performance. However, after more testing I am not so sure.. I will admit that the audi from the Widex dispenser was much more satisfying to interact with. Very bright, great communication skills, etc. The subject of a lesser expensive model did come up, and she said she could fit me with a more competitively priced product. If price was no object I would get the Widex and be done with.

Unfortunately, money is a huge factor for me. Particularly when we are talking about a $3,400 difference! The audi at Costco does not inspire as much confidence, but I think it’s just the different personalities and charisma and physical attractiveness.

Both HA dispensers offer service after the sale. Costco is a bullet proof business and they definitely will do what they say, no questions asked. I have to go back to the Widex dispenser on Monday to return or purchase the HAs. I purchased the Costco HAs already, but they have a 90 day return policy. I already tried and returned a pair of their Kirkland Signature HAs I purchased in March. I don’t think I handled that experience as well as I could have. I did not go back and work with the audi to sort out the issues with the HAs or to try another brand. I intend to do better this time, but I am collecting data and information to help me make up my mind.

@ Silver, I also experienced that loud distortion with the Clears at a party. Twice. At risk of offending a poster above for recommending other brands, I returned my Clear 440s and bought Oticon Agil Pros Power BTE.

Rexton is a brand of Siemens, a Mega corporation, which I believe is sold exclusively at Costco. While they are probably a good value brand, if you have a severe or profound hearing loss as I do, it is probably worth it to get the state of the art HAs instead of the value brands. Siemens makes and manufactures a LOT of HAs - I think they have several lines at Costco alone. Some of us (me included) have not had good experience with Siemens HAs - even with Siemens’ top of the line.

Widex is one of those state of the art brands and the Clear 440s are their flagship. Reports here are they work really well for lot of people. That said, I wonder if they ever turned up music loud or went to concert as you and I have. I did not like the Clears but their technology is certainly high level.

From reading here, it seems like the best deal on the market might be the Resound Futures at Costco. They are almost identical to the state of the art Resound Aleras that sell for $2000 more at audiologist offices. They also get good reviews here. BTW, the five state of the art brands seem to be Oticon, Widex, Phonak, Starkey and Resound. Again, if you don’t have a severe hearing loss, one of the many other brands may work just fine - Audibel, Rexton, Bernafon, Siemens, Rexton, Unitron and Sonic Innovations.

And of course, each of our hearing loss and brain reaction to that loss is different, so you simply have to trial several brands and pick the one that works best for you.

Rexton is not an exclusive Costco brand. They are sold all over. The Rexton Cobalt relates to a Siemens Pure. I think the Rexton Insite relates to the Siemens Motion. They have CIC and BTE models and go up to power and high power models (up to 80 Db). They are definitely not stripped down models. My dad just got the “p” model (70 Db).

The Insite is a good hearing aid but again, you need to have a good audiologist who can work with you.