(Why) is Costco perceived as second rate? Cultural context?

@Kim_in_Florida said:

I don’t think it’s so much that Costco is horrible so much as folks on this Forum are pretty obnoxious about promoting Costco above all else. Not everybody has one nearby but it seems like folks on here think you should pack up & move just so you can get your HAs there & only there. I just start tuning out whenever the Costco Cult pipes up.

I have not found Obnoxiousity anywhere on these posts regarding Costco. When I lived in Florida I went to 2 private Audiologists and they never gave me a choice but put HA’s in my ears and I walked out the door. Not even an REM. I could hear better than with my natural ears but I was a newbie in this profession and did not know any better.

Now I live in the Twin Cities of Minnesota. I didn’t even know that Costco sold HA’s. My hearing aid specialist is awesome and has done this for over 25 years. Another one there has done it for 40 years, and the third guy just started. BTW They would rather be called hearing aid specialists than fitters. Because I asked them. Also because the Costco building is only three years old you do not have to go into a booth because the whole office is soundproof. Awesome!

I wear Resound Preza’s and am going in for a cleaning Tuesday. I called and said I noticed my hearing is getting worse. BTW I am profound. Wondering if I will eventually need molds or CI’s. When I press my finger in front of my ear to close the canal I can hear-so sharp and loud.

Please don’t knock Costco, wish I had heard of them 20 years ago.

I think people put it down when they see someone leaving the store with a 50 gal. bottle of ketchup

I did have the experience of a Costco HIS installing a left receiver on both aids. I inserted them and the right aid kept pulling out soon after I left. When I compared them it was obvious my right aid had a left receiver and was twisting the wire when I inserted it in my right ear. I didnt notice the error till the next day. When i returned to get the correct receiver. another HIS laughed about it and said, “how silly of her”. One reason why I self program these days

Re: Costco as a second rate HA provider: I will tell you it depends on the audiologist. At the Costco in West Springfield mass 8 years ago my audiologist was great! When it came time that my hearing needed more help than HA could give me, he suggested an ENT. I wish I could find as integral a ENT as my Costco guy. 3 of them treated me more like a potential sale than an MD who wanted to help my issue. Everyone’s voice sounds like "Donald Duck, including mine. This has been going on for 3 years and 3 ENT’s with more “Blow Offs” than problem solving. They just check your hearing and send you off to their audiologist, with narry an attempt to look into the problem. What’s interesting lately is that if I move my jaw open I hear cracking like a loud POP. The same if I move my jaw left to right and right to left as far as I can. I think it’s related to my hearing issues. Now all I need to do is find someone who has dealt with this issue. It’s not a Vestibular Therapy issue to the best of my searches either.

After having the hearing test Costco wouldn’t sell me hearing aids because of my results… too difficult for them I guess.

I have taken up a lot of audiologists’ time with many adjustments trying to even understand what people are saying, with not very good results with any of them. So I can understand why Costco didn’t even want to try with my loss.

@gayle said:

After having the hearing test Costco wouldn’t sell me hearing aids because of my results… too difficult for them

Can’t see why that is, nothing that a HA couldn’t help with, sure revise slope on your left, but nothing that couldn’t be fit, they have Brio 5 which would be helpful for you, I’d just find another Costco if you can.

Have you ever been evaluated for a cochlear implant? I’m guessing your word recognition scores wer pretty low and they didn’t think aids would help.

@gayle said:

some of my family members are against a CI

Why on earth?..

@Neville said:

Why on earth?..

Fear of a bad result or infection.

Strangely enough @Neville, the Big D as they are known here in the UK (Pre-lingually Deaf) much prefer their children to be born Deaf like them, and most abhor CI, as they believe these to be a slow strangulation of their Deaf culture, and some will refuse point blank to have their Deaf children implanted…… You have to see it from their perspective, they honestly believe there is absolutely nothing wrong or strange about profound hearing loss, as sign language is their first language, and their preferred medium of communication, and they believe CI are destroying their culture, this culture goes back several hundred years…. I honestly empathise with them. Cheers Kev

This discussion is very interesting! When I got my first HAs, I didn’t realize that Costco was an option. When I decided to replace my first set ~6 years later, I decided to go to Costso. I had a hearing test, and found the audiologist to be good, if a bit inexperienced. However I was left with the impression that Costcos hearing aids are much like their TVs - you can get a great price if you are ok with technology that is a year or two old. Maybe this is not the case? In my case, I was told at Costco that CICs that can stream do not exist (even though I already had that capability, albeit with the use of a surflink device, which I was looking to get rid of). She did suggest BTE/RIC but only offered me one option in each format (RIC/CIC), and I was left with the impression that ‘this is what they sell’ not necessarily that this is what would help me. I then decided to go back to my private clinic and had a completely different discussion. There are in fact CICs that can stream, however we talked about the pros and cons of different types, and discussed three different brands (and also discussed different typrs - CIC vs. RIC).

I would not describe my experience at Costco as negative, in fact I have recommended them to a friend who needs HA but can’t afford the price she was quoted at several private audiologists right now. It might just be my experience, I felt that Costco sold a limited selection and picked the best fit, whereas the private audiologist was able to help me compare different brands (not sure how many brands they sell, but we seriously considered 3) to make a more personalized recommendation. Is this worth the significantly increased cost? Only if you can afford the extra cost without sacrificing other things.

There are a lot of people who were born deaf who see themselves as special and not handicap. Good for them. I applaud their attitude. But to think thats how others should be especially their children is absolutely ridiculous. The people in this forum have experienced what it’s like to hear and what it’s like to lose their hearing. I don’t see anyone say they’re glad they lost their hearing. People deaf from birth have no idea what hearing is like so can’t really judge. They say they’re not handicap but let’s be serious. They are, as we are. Asking them how they feel about being deaf when they’re lying in the gutter because they didn’t hear that car horn. I’ve worked with a lot of deaf people. I respect their ability to adapt to their loss. But I’ve also seen a lot of near accidents because they can’t hear. One thing about the deaf. They see my aids and they come over and talk to me about it. It’s the hearing that make the rude and cruel remarks

Hi @hass5744, I have always, or since I was very young, I have been fascinated with “Deaf Culture”, they do have some strange/peculiar ideas, that are very much indicative to their culture… Not surprising though, when they are cut off from mainstream society via oral language. For instance, in the hearing world, we pick up a lot of information just through conversations, or indeed just listening to others talking, some of this may register on our memory, these conversations tell us of folks personal prospective on any given situation, and usually what the outcome was… A simple example here, a friend & former sign language teacher, (My teacher) born profoundly Deaf, with sign language as her first language, a lovely lady, and very intelligent, with a beautiful sense of humor, well she had a small fire at home, which she managed to put out, and someone said, “Why didn’t you call the “Fire Service/Brigade”? (Fire Brigade here in the UK) Her response was, “But, who would pay”! She genuinely thought at around 70 years old, you had to pay if you called out the Fire Service! Now you and me would be very aware, via previous conversations, listening in or perhaps the news, that this is free at the point of service, but to a Deaf person, they might be oblivious to something that is so fundamental… That shocked me, It was an eye opener, to say the very least! Cheers Kev

My mother used to say don’t call the fire dept because they’ll do more damage getting to the fire than the fire itself will fo. So who knows