Skip to content
HearingTracker
Log in

Hearing Aid Practitioner employed at Costco…Ask Me Anything!

This topic is closed.

524 replies184.3k viewsLast reply

Jump
Link to this topic

In reply to @kannon8833

Kannon,

Again, sorry for taking so long… Why is your Audiologist asking you? Are you an audiologist? Shouldn’t he/she know what will give the best results, as he/she is the “expert”? The receiver power should be determined by the severity of your hearing loss. I don’t see your so I can’t make a specific recommendation, but unless you have a pretty severe loss, the reciever is probably adequate. On the other hand, if you are completely within the fitting range of the HP receiver and you have enough space in your ear canal, it won’t hurt you to get that, which will allow your devices to grow with you as your hearing loss progresses (if it progresses). As for the vent, again, I would need to see your audiogram to know how big you need it, but with the NP reciever, it sounds like you may have more flexibility because it is usually easier to reduce the vent size than enlarge it.

Ordered the Trax 42 ’s Wednesday. I didn’t know enough (newbie) to ask which receiver was ordered. I called when I found out there are several receivers available for the Trax 42. I didn’t get an answer that made sense to me, when I asked why they chose the “S” receiver for me. How is the receiver chosen? I have noise related hearing loss so I don’t pick up the high frequencies. I have gone on the Rexton site and looked at the spec’s for their receivers but honestly I’m not sure what they mean. Thanks for any input.

Using the standards is typical. If your loss should increase, they can easily change to more power. The graph you saw show the hearing loss covered which are negative values. The darkened area is within the prescription for various needs.

I hope you can help with advice or experience.
I was very happy with the Benefon’s I got at Costco years ago and have recommended Costco to all until my recent experience. In preparation for retirement I purchased new Kirkland aids and have been very frustrated. The good news is that I can hear much better with them. The bad news is that the left one makes a popping noise in a number of situations and over the course of several months Costco can not seem to fix it. The popping is clearly related to vibration. It happens on rough freeway pavement, on airplanes, near a piano or in a party with recorded sound. It is very irritating and sometimes I just have to take it out. The said they replaced it once. The company keeps telling the audiologist to make adjustments or reconfigure and it doesn’t work and it takes weeks to get a call back or another appointment. (The Richmond CA Costco hearing dept appears to be seriously understaffed.)
Has anyone else had this problem? If so was there a solution?
The right one is fine btw.
Thanks, Susan

@fuhgettaboutit said:

Hey everyone,

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!!

Susan,

I have what might be called a popping sound. Mine is with certain voices. Something in them causes a pop/distortion in my right ear. I had the TV on one morning before I put my aids on and the pop came with one speaker. It turned out my ear is the problem. Not saying that is the case but it is a possibility. You might try having them set a program with reduced volume in the problem aid to see if it works in the car or similar situations.

Edited

Do you have one of your 6 programs set for streaming? Ditch it. It’s not needed, and switching is often erratic as you describe. You’ll find it switches a lot more seamlessly without it. My bet is that’s your problem.

I normally don’t use my Bluetooth when streaming from my pc. I usually use a cable between smart connect and pc. Bluetooth is available when I really need it, such as when I am working in kitchen and don’t want to be tied to computer.

Normally I turn my smart connect on when I get out of bed. Bluetooth won’t connect to my laptop unless I turn laptop on first. So if I want to use Bluetooth, all I have to do is power cycle the Smart Connect while pc is running nearby.

I have the 42s. The click molds keep slipping out no matter what size or wire I use. I also clean and dry my ears with alcohol at least twice a day.
I had custom molds made 3 weeks ago. Same problem.
Every few minutes I need to push them back into position.
Any ideas?

Had my 42s since June 6. Tons of adjustments. I still can’t make out a huge amount of what’s said to me or watching tv etc.
I think the high freqs are turned up too high as they seem to distort regular voices.
My loss is in high freqs. Is it possible to tone the highs down and still retain usefulness?
Also could the gain be too high? I supposedly have it set for “experienced” user. That’s up from “first time” user.

Have you considered trying a different brand? You are closing in on 90 days. I had no success with the Trax42 aids.

In reply to @fuhgettaboutit

Hi,
I am a lifetime wearer of hearing aids, first time contributor. I have just been prescribed a pair of Phonak Audeo V hearing aids (last tuesday). I have a moderate hearing loss in the right ear and a moderate to severe hearing loss in the left ear. I am a 35 year old male. My most recent pair was a traditional digital hearing aid.

I find that the sound in my right (good) ear is not as rich or as crisp as the sound in my left (less good) ear. It seems quiter, restricted or muffled or just not what I am used to.

Could this be a fine tuning issue? My Audiologist put a more powerful receiver in the left ear than in the right. Could that account for the discrepancy? Is it normal to put a different receiver in each ear for the same patient. I find that strange given that these new digital aids are all about syncing technology and the aids “working together”

I am a little concerned about the maintenance of these aids as well. I have custom cShell moulds. Do these protect the receiver in the canal better than the sandard domes? Also, how delicate are these receiver wires. I handle with care, but given the one’s ear canal points in a certain direction, there is a certain amount of tugging and manipulation required when putting aids in and out.

I like that these aids feel lighter in the ear, but I am wondering if they are worth the trouble?

I have a worse loss than you. I notice a difference in content between the two ears. The worse ear (right) has a certain richness or presence that isn’t there in the other unit. I believe I have the same power for both. That from turning on/off individual aids. Together they are an amalgam of the sounds that gives a richness that a single aid doesn’t provide.

I’ve chalked it off to the uniqueness of the ears themselves but can’t claim I’m right.

In reply to @carol_hawkins_aud

This seems to have become a general “Costco Experience” thread since the originator hasn’t replied in some time. If this belongs somewhere else, please let me know. :slight_smile:

I had my first appointment with Phil at the Costco on Renaissance Blvd in Albuquerque, NM on 8/28/2015. Here are my impressions:

  • I believe this was the most thorough audiometry test I have experienced in 20 years of wearing aids. There were two booths located in a fairly quiet part of the buliding. Testing involved using recorded voices rather than the tester speaking, which avoids accent problems. An test was performed using brand new bluetooth based equipment. The only wires were from a “collar” to the test tubes.
  • From my description of my issues (tinnitus for 40 years that I don’t expect masking to help, high frequency loss moderate to severe) Phil suggested from the start that the Rexton trax 42 would probably make me happiest. I countered that, unless it was ridiculous to do so, I wanted to try the KS6’s because they cost $800 less and because they were in stock and could be fitted immediately (I am to perform my daughter’s wedding in a week and one of my current aids just died.) Phil said it would depend on the . After the test he was very willing to work with the KS6’s. Phil was very “down to earth” and avoided marketing jargon when discussing the aid’s features and capabilities.
  • The first programming of the aids had a moderate echo associated that I heard immediately in the booth. Phil fixed that in about 30 seconds and I went to wander the floor.
  • During the floor walk and talking to my daughter, I noticed that the sound seemed “occluded” with poor high-frequency loss in the right ear. I reported this on my return and, again, Phil fixed this in under a minute. We brought my daughter into to the booth to talk to me and that helped me make sure it sounded right.
  • I am astonished at the improvement in my ability to hear high-frequencies with the KS6s as compared to the Resound Live 9s I had. I’ve heard instruments in well-known music selections that I had forgotten were there and I’m much more able to distinguish what is said to me.
  • At this point my only real question is whether the high-end might be over-amplified or if things (like dogs’ claws on hard linoleum) really sound like that. I haven’t heard frequencies that high in roughly two decades, so it’s hard to know.
  • By the time I got back from my wander around the floor, Phil had a set of KS6s matching my hair programmed and ready for a final test, which I greatly appreciated.
  • I go back for a follow-up in three weeks and will do at least a store-floor trial of the Rextons at that point to see if there are other marvels to be gained by that aid, but at the moment I’m just awed by the KS6 aids.

What is the purpose of streaming audio as a separate program? If I delete streaming audio, will I still be able to listen to my iPhone music thru my hearing aids. Now I can but I have problems getting out of streaming audio.

I was told I need the streaming audio if I want to customize the sound. The standard sound was horrible on my trax 42. Prob because it was the same as my speech program.
I had the Audi add bass and reduce treble. Far far better now.

Hello fuhgettaboutit,

I am looking at the kirkland signature 6.0 and trying to confirm if they are the awesome resound linx2 9. Also trying to confirm if it matters if I buy an iphone 6 or wait for the new iphone 6s. This will be my first set of hearing aids… Mild to moderate hearing loss per audio test… Purpose of hearing aids is for business meeting conversation and tv watching with my wife…

@cgprintstar said:

Hello fuhgettaboutit,

I am looking at the kirkland signature 6.0 and trying to confirm if they are the awesome resound linx2 9. Also trying to confirm if it matters if I buy an iphone 6 or wait for the new iphone 6s. This will be my first set of hearing aids… Mild to moderate hearing loss per audio test… Purpose of hearing aids is for business meeting conversation and tv watching with my wife…

They are the awesome original Linx 9. Doesn’t matter about the iPhone.

In reply to @cgprintstar

@cgprintstar said:

Hello fuhgettaboutit,

I am looking at the kirkland signature 6.0 and trying to confirm if they are the awesome resound linx2 9. Also trying to confirm if it matters if I buy an iphone 6 or wait for the new iphone 6s. This will be my first set of hearing aids… Mild to moderate hearing loss per audio test… Purpose of hearing aids is for business meeting conversation and tv watching with my wife…

May I suggest that you don’t expect to only use hearing aids for specific situations. I put mine in right after I shower and don’t take them out until I go to bed. Granted when I first got them I started slow and worked my way up to a full day but except for listening to music with my earbuds I never remove my hearing aids. Why would I not want to hear better ALL the time?

Active discussions

What the forum has been talking about this week.