I agree!! My old audiologist used to get angry and defensive at any questions I had. I wanted to do my own research on hearing aid brands and she dismissively told me that I was not qualified to do that and she would pick the best thing for me. Now maybe she could and maybe she couldn’t, but her attitude annoyed me since I was the one that had to wear the things and pay the large cost of them.
Another audiologist told me she was not going to let me try more than two brands - even though she had a bunch right there in the office. she also knew what was best for me and said I could try two kinds and choose the one I liked best… Nice attitude since she was trying to charge almost $4000 for one hearing aid.
My advice is do you own research and if you have an , you can use google the specs of the hearing aid you are interested in and see if it fits your degree of loss. Unless you have a profound loss, you have many choices. I also highly recommend you check out Hearing Revolution. I was concerned at first because it is an expensive purchase to make online, but I have had nothing but the very best customer service from them. And I was able to get the hearing aid I wanted for literally $1800 cheaper than what the audiologist wanted. And I get 45 day trial, a year support, all the same warranties, and 2 years free batteries. And it’s only $75 (per aid) to return it during the trial. This is compared to the $550 I was bilked out of between two audiologists for trying two different hearing aids (one at each place) for 4 days each.
If an audiologist sells a hearing aid, they should be required to have a demo version on hand to allow people to try it for FREE at the evaluation visit BEFORE they opt to order it instead of ordering it and then charging huge cancelation/trial fees. Imagine if you were test driving cars are were charged these huge fees? It should be against the law.
I love in office demos, and we allow people to try our demo aids for a week before they decide to purchase (no fees involved). I’ve let people try different brands and models until we find the one that suits them best. Interestingly for those who argue that premium aids are no better than lower levels, most people can tell a definite difference between them in the real world and will pick the higher technology levels.
Greg, I had a similar experience to your wife. In the Fall 2014, I began experiencing vertigo and nausea that I thought was a flu. I have ulcerative colitis, which is auto-immune related, and it had been under control for several years, and suddenly it began flaring up violently. I assumed my problems were related to the flare-up and maybe a flu too. Blood tests at that time showed an elevated white count. I began experiencing ear and neck pain a few weeks lately and ENT put me on antibiotics. I still felt generally unwell, but seemed to “recover”.
The First day of January, I began experiencing stabbing pains in my left ear and neck. I already had a sensorneurinol hearing loss of 10% and 15% in my right and left ear respectively, but after the pains I could barely hear at all and I was very scared. I went to an ENT again and this time they put me on prednisone to try to bring the hearing back up. I was one 2 separate two week courses of it consecutively. It did help a little in my right ear, but a hearing test showed that all useful hearing in left ear was gone and the right ear had decreased significantly to what it was before the attack.
I still felt unwell and 7 different doctors ranging from primary care, ENT, neurologist, and gastroenterologist did not know what was wrong with me. Each specialist seemed to only want to treat their own part. The neurologist gave me prescription Dramamine! Some doctor “guessed” that I could have Lyme Disease, Meniere’s disease, Sjogren’s, or even MS! After being tested for all these things and coming back negative, the doctor’s were stumped. w
Many of them said that the vertigo issue was due to the hearing loss…ell then why did the vertigo come BEFORE the sudden hearing loss? Anyway, by accident they finally diagnosed me in February… I had a severe gall bladder infection which was full of stones and it needed to come out ASAP.
MY own guess is that because of the undiagnosed gall bladder infection, and white count, which was elevated for 6-8 months, my immune system began attacking- hence the ulcerative colitis flare-up and then it also attacked my hearing. My gall bladder issue was detective BY ACCIDENT as the gastroenterologist had ordered a liver panel and it came back with 2 liver enzymes being very elevated (which could have meant liver cancer, hepatitis, or cirrhosis). It turned out the liver enzyme being high was due to the prednisone, but the gastroenterologist decided to order an ultrasound to check… and that’s when they found the gall bladder. The gall bladder surgeon told me that all different doctors putting me on high dose steroids probably didn’t help. And she put me on high level antibiotics to try to get the inflammation and infection under control before the surgery so I could have the laproscopic. Of course the gastroenterologist hates me being on any antibiotics because they can cause the colitis to flare and also parasites.
I hope that someone else can be helped by this story.
Also, I have been ripped off to the tune of $550 by audiologists for very little service just wanting to try hearing aids to suit my new loss. I find many of them are extremely pushy and want to push you into a hearing aid that is best for THEM as far as profit and comfort (their own personal knowledge). My advice is to gather a ton of information and know what you want before you go. Make sure the audiologist you choose actually sells the hearing aid brand you are interested in and is knowledgeable about programming them.
I also recommend you check out Hearing Revolutions. you can’t beat their prices and you won’t have to buy re-branded models that are a few models behind the top of the line like at the big box stores. I was a little concerned at first to buy this way, but it has been a very good experience. http://hearingrevolution.com/
My wife have just about everting looked at, including a and Sonar scans of her abdomen – She has had an of her head and a colonoscopy and endoscopy with biopsy, along with close to 25 different medical lab test. All came back with a big O. The wants her to start on the prednisone for 6 weeks starting at 60 mg and tapering down. Two weeks ago they tried her on a short 8 day prednisone trial and she showed some slight improvement. We hope it helps. No one has any concrete idea on why it moved to hearing and balance
We also had our second visit today to an audiologist shopping for today. They priced out their primmer brand -Oticon Alta Pro #2 for $6,800 and they were unwilling to compromise. It was a very professional presentation. When I asked them to match others they had no interest. They said it’s all about customer service and that what they need to provide the right kind of care.
I also went into our local Costco store. We got an appointment for the Monday after the next. The have the Kirtland Signature 6.0 in stock @ $1799 and several other brands that we can order – nothing over $3K.
Three questions:
1)Is the Kirtland Signature 6.0 as good and have the similar features as the as the Oitcon Alta Pro #2
2)Are the other brand they carry as good and have the similar features as the Oitcon Alta Pro #2
3)Finally, how does Costco do it – selling for less then 50% of completive brands and 75% for their own Kirtland brand. – Should we expect less?
Thanks to everyone for trying to help us and putting us on the right path
What prescriptive rule is Costco required to use as part of it’s fittings? There are quite a few and there is variability amongst them, so as an Aud who is required to implement / Live Speech Mapping as a part of my fittings (Mainly stipulated by Australian government who subsidised a majority of my fittings) I’m interested to know what the Costco preference in US is and why this prescriptive rule over the others available? I’m a firm believer that REM/LSM gives a very good indication of gain at the eardrum, although with my experience I’ve actually found that the Insitu audiometry and aid calculations made from these measurements within the software I mainly use provides better results in listening settings outside the clinic (oh and good old fashioned listening to what my patient says). The main issue I have is that with even the most meticulously placed REM tubes there is variability in results as it can only take the smallest movement in tube position, or if the REM tube is squashed by the mould to alter the reading given at the eardrum thus throwing the fitting out of whack. I suppose what I’m saying is that REM provides good validation, but it is not necessarily the only way of achieving good fitting outcomes in all situations. Sometimes the best clinicians actually think outside the box rather than make every single clinical decision based upon a rule designed for the masses.
Just ordered the KS6 . Costco brochure indicates an apple app for the Gen 4 Ipad can be downloaded by going to app store and entering Costco choice. Does not come up either on App for Ipad or App for Iphone. Is it not working yet?
Referrals from their patients are the best indicator, I think. If I were looking around, I’d want someone who would sit down for a free consult so we could see if we’re compatible, and ask them questions to see not just the content of their answers but also how they react to being questioned. That can tell you lots, I think.
i good idea but i’m not sure if the average person who has never worn aids would know what to ask referrals, are you suggesting the dispenser giv out the names and contact information of their customers to prospects who want referrals. do you? referrals are only a subset of customers who are happy with the dispenser. how about the ones who are not?
What prescriptive rule is Costco required to use as part of it’s fittings? There are quite a few and there is variability amongst them, so as an Aud who is required to implement REM / Live Speech Mapping as a part of my fittings (Mainly NAL-NL2 stipulated by Australian government who subsidised a majority of my fittings) I’m interested to know what the Costco preference in US is and why this prescriptive rule over the others available? I’m a firm believer that REM/LSM gives a very good indication of gain at the eardrum, although with my experience I’ve actually found that the Insitu audiometry and aid calculations made from these measurements within the software I mainly use provides better results in listening settings outside the clinic (oh and good old fashioned listening to what my patient says). The main issue I have is that with even the most meticulously placed REM tubes there is variability in results as it can only take the smallest movement in tube position, or if the REM tube is squashed by the mould to alter the reading given at the eardrum thus throwing the fitting out of whack. I suppose what I’m saying is that REM provides good validation, but it is not necessarily the only way of achieving good fitting outcomes in all situations. Sometimes the best clinicians actually think outside the box rather than make every single clinical decision based upon a rule designed for the masses.
in virginia, all audiologist must get a dispensers license. dispensers get a dispenser license. at costco, the dispenser might have the education of an audiologist or the education of a dispenser. it appears the is not required.
Just ordered the KS6 HA. Costco brochure indicates an apple app for the Gen 4 Ipad can be downloaded by going to app store and entering Costco choice. Does not come up either on App for Ipad or App for Iphone. Is it not working yet?
I agree!! My old audiologist used to get angry and defensive at any questions I had. I wanted to do my own research on hearing aid brands and she dismissively told me that I was not qualified to do that and she would pick the best thing for me. Now maybe she could and maybe she couldn’t, but her attitude annoyed me since I was the one that had to wear the things and pay the large cost of them.
Another audiologist told me she was not going to let me try more than two brands - even though she had a bunch right there in the office. she also knew what was best for me and said I could try two kinds and choose the one I liked best… Nice attitude since she was trying to charge almost $4000 for one hearing aid.
My advice is do you own research and if you have an audiogram, you can use google the specs of the hearing aid you are interested in and see if it fits your degree of loss. Unless you have a profound loss, you have many choices. I also highly recommend you check out Hearing Revolution. I was concerned at first because it is an expensive purchase to make online, but I have had nothing but the very best customer service from them. And I was able to get the hearing aid I wanted for literally $1800 cheaper than what the audiologist wanted. And I get 45 day trial, a year support, all the same warranties, and 2 years free batteries. And it’s only $75 (per aid) to return it during the trial. This is compared to the $550 I was bilked out of between two audiologists for trying two different hearing aids (one at each place) for 4 days each.
If an audiologist sells a hearing aid, they should be required to have a demo version on hand to allow people to try it for FREE at the evaluation visit BEFORE they opt to order it instead of ordering it and then charging huge cancelation/trial fees. Imagine if you were test driving cars are were charged these huge fees? It should be against the law.
i looked at their site. there are others online like hearing planet, truhearing that offer similar prices. but, costco has them beat hands down on all the products costco carries. this company offers much more variety than costco. the web site did not say if the services were limited either. truhearing has a limit of three visits.
correction. i revisited the hearing planet site. they must have raised their prices. i wouldn’t consider them now.
i called the hearing revolution site. it includes a free exam, one year of service, three year warranty, and two years of batteries. the selection is relatively wide even though they don’t have phonak and the prices are very good except costco similar products are less.
I’ve heard it’s closer to $200. Sure when a new platform comes out their is R&D, line set up, some employee training, maybe software, advertising has to be paid but all aids in the line are basically the same. cannels, processers etc. makes a small uptick from say a Q30 to a Q90. After a year in production the overhead for a manufacture drops a great deal that allows discount to majors sellers to be substantial.
… Could someone please confirm who make the Costco Kirtland hearing aids
(As I understand from reading this forum) The Costco Kirkland (note spelling in case you need to look up something) KS6s are basically the GN ReSound LiNX 9.
The thing I like about Hearing Revolution is you get the brand name hearing aids and not rebranded ones that can only be programmed at Costco because of the software. I am happy with my decision to order from them and feel I got a great deal on the hearing aids I wanted. I could not find a single bad review about them anywhere. Hearing Planet on the other hand, had TONS of ticked off reviews and their prices were not that great.
Note: I’m new here so I admit I am not familiar with personal dynamics between posters; however, I think Doc had a good point about Lyme Disease. 4 of our horses had it this past year and it caused all types of issues for the ones that had it. One horse actually fell over when it was being ridden because it could not keep its balance and another had neurological issues in its hind legs. It can be tricky to detect too because symptoms mimic other things like MS. A blood test can come back negative and the person (or horse) can actually have it. When I was very sick the last 6 months, I was also tested for Lyme Disease. A friend of the family actually had Lyme Disease and had many of the same symptoms I was experiencing. Luckily it is treatable.
Update: Hearing Planets prices are higher from what I saw in the ones I was looking at anyway. The Widex Dream 440 was $2999 on Hearing Planet versus $2045 at Hearing Revolution. That is almost $1000 per hearing aid difference - so it would cost you $2000 more if you were getting two. That is not a small difference! Also I have read many complaints about Hearing Planet’s customer service. I have been dealing with Hearing Revolution and they are very quick to respond and I have found their customer service top notch.
The thing I like about Hearing Revolution is you get the brand name hearing aids and not rebranded ones that can only be programmed at Costco because of the software. I am happy with my decision to order from them and feel I got a great deal on the hearing aids I wanted. I could not find a single bad review about them anywhere. Hearing Planet on the other hand, had TONS of ticked off reviews and their prices were not that great.
Note: I’m new here so I admit I am not familiar with personal dynamics between posters; however, I think Doc had a good point about Lyme Disease. 4 of our horses had it this past year and it caused all types of issues for the ones that had it. One horse actually fell over when it was being ridden because it could not keep its balance and another had neurological issues in its hind legs. It can be tricky to detect too because symptoms mimic other things like MS. A blood test can come back negative and the person (or horse) can actually have it. When I was very sick the last 6 months, I was also tested for Lyme Disease. A friend of the family actually had Lyme Disease and had many of the same symptoms I was experiencing. Luckily it is treatable.
i agreed that i might have misunderstood his comment, but Doc has a habit of belittling people on this site. he has attempted to do this to me and several others. his comments are not just about technology or general but personal attacks on individuals. i will argue a point with anyone but when it drops down to name calling, this is not necessary.
sabrin, i also modified my position on hearing planet. i have reviewed the site you provided and even called them. they are on of the better programs
Gary, if you find Jakey annoying for some reason… ROFL
You can enter your setup and set him to ignore and you won’t see his post likely others before you.
In an earlier post it was mentioned you can identify which hearing aids to considered based on your hearing test results. Where / how does one do this?
I work at a Costco Hearing Centre as a hearing aid practitioner/dispenser.
To clarify: Costco’s provides hearing aids with THE SAME TECHNOLOGY made by the SAME MANUFACTURER’S as other clinics; Phonak, GN ReSound, Siemens and Bernafon. We employ audiologists and Hearing Aid Practitioners alike. We serve only the 18+ population.
I have worked outside of Costco for several years as well and have a good perspective of this industry. It is an industry full of people (but not ALL) driven by money, not hearing and communication healthcare.
That being said, I truly believe that Costco’s Hearing centres are the hearing aid dispensing industry’s saving grace. We follow standard protocols that are set at the top of the dispensing industry. I have seen life-changing experiences within the hearing centre; tons of satisfied people, and very few adjustment appointments. Simply said; we are doing things right, and hard of hearing consumers are finally realizing it. Gone are the days of $3000.00+ hearing aids w/ little to no verification and validation procedures.
ASK ME ANYTHING!!
How would you compare the Siemens(48 channel) product with the Resound Linx2 ? Would you recommend one over the other?
