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CostCo hearing aids--what brands can be adjusted by other audiologists?

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I had a hearing test this past January. My left ear showed a loss that sloped from 20 db at 1000 Hz all the way down to 93 db at 8300 Hz. The hearing in my right ear was significantly better but bottomed out at 52 db at 3700 or so Hz. and then went back p ato 42 db at 7300 or so Hz. I tried a couple of pairs of hearing aids and was never quite sure they helped, so I didn’t buy them. Besides, they were fairly costly.

Today I saw a chart that labeled hearing a tone at 40 db as a moderate loss and one at 70 db as severe. Until I saw those labels, I guess I really didn’t appreciate the degree to which I lost hearing. What made me re-visit the subject was when I was listening to a video on my iPad. My right ear itched, so I put my little finger in it to scratch. When the hearing in my right ear was suddenly blocked, that’s when I realized that what I was hearing in my left ear was a muffled, low-volume sound. And now, suddenly, I realize that I do in fact need those aids, like it or not. I guess, as my audiologist put it, I was in fact floating down a the river called Denial.

While I was paying attention to hearing forums the first time, I saw mention of some very good deals on hearing aids at Costco. The nearest one is over a two-hour drive away, but considering the savings it might be worth the drive.

Which brings me to my next questions: 1) what are Costco’s good brands of aids and 2) which ones can be adjusted by other, local audiologists? Apparently some of Costco’s brands are locked and can’t be adjusted anywhere other than Costco.

Answers, anyone? TMI?

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Costco’s Phonak, Rexton and Phillips aids, as well as their KS10 which is made by Sonova, parent company of Phonak COULD be adjusted by anybody with the software and equipment. Finding an audiologist willing to do so might be another matter. In short, only the Costco Resound hearing aids are locked to Costco. They’re all decent hearing aids.

Edited
@Xooterpust said:

Apparently some of Costco’s brands are locked and can’t be adjusted anywhere other than Costco.

Why would being adjusted by another audiologist be a feature? If anything goes wrong with the ’s, I doubt that another is going to be able to do any warranty work and will charge you out of pocket. The main reason that it might be worthwhile is if you live 200 miles from the nearest Costco (and then you might be better off going with the non-Costco HCP to start with) but I would predict that whoever the OEM is, they’ll absolutely refuse to honor the warranty for a non-Costco audiologist. Having to go to Costo for Costco HA service avoids undercutting the concierge service a non-Costco HCP can provide. Perhaps a non-Costco audiologist could provide repairs with stuff bought off eBay, etc., but that would be a pretty dicey proposition.

If something’s mechanically wrong with the hardware of the aids, naturally an outside audiologist or repair facility is not going to honor a Costco warranty. IMO, the reason a lot of people on this forum - including me - favor unlocked instruments is the ability of ANYONE to tweak or adjust virtually any software setting or parameter of the . Not only by a non-Costco specialist or , but the retail customer his/herself. The factory programming software is readily available on the section of this site, and the necessary hardware devices needed to connect the aids to one’s computer are easily purchased on eBay or even amazon.

It ain’t cold fusion to tinker with this stuff, and no, it doesn’t void your warranty.

I’ve made three adjustments on my neighbor’s newer Costco hearing aids (Brio) and saved him at least three 180 mile round trips. Just being a good neighbor I guess.

In reply to @jim_lewis

@Xooterpust said:

Apparently some of Costco’s brands are locked and can’t be adjusted anywhere other than Costco.

@jim_lewis said:

Why would being adjusted by another audiologist be a feature? If anything goes wrong with the HA’s, I doubt that another HCP is going to be able to do any warranty work and will charge you out of pocket. The main reason that it might be worthwhile is if you live 200 miles from the nearest Costco (and then you might be better off going with the non-Costco HCP to start with) but I would predict that whoever the OEM is, they’ll absolutely refuse to honor the warranty for a non-Costco audiologist. Having to go to Costo for Costco HA service avoids undercutting the concierge service a non-Costco HCP can provide. Perhaps a non-Costco audiologist could provide repairs with stuff bought off eBay, etc., but that would be a pretty dicey proposition.

The reason that being adjusted by “another” audiologist would be a feature is because it enables the user to get a second opinion when they’re not satisfied with the results of the fitting and/or adjustments at Costco.

As far as consulting “another” audiologist is concerned, it’s likely that the testing and fitting at Costco wasn’t done by an audiologist in the first place, so it’s not turning to “another” audiologist at all. It’s obtaining a consultation with an audiologist which was likely never available at Costco and which was the missing piece.

Yes, one would have to pay the audiologist out of pocket, but even with that, the purchase of the at Costco would still amount to a huge savings. It’s no different than getting a second opinion when the HAs were purchased from a private Audi. The cost of that second opinion is going to have to be paid out of pocket either way. That additional cost is going to be a lot easier to swallow when you only paid $1400 to start with rather than $6400.

And yes, repairs are going to have to go through Costco. So what? The non-Costco Audi identifies a problem and you take it back to Costco for the repair. What’s the problem?

I purchased my KS 10’s in May from the closest Costco hearing center, which is almost a two hour drive from my home. I have had one follow up appointment so far, and another due in November. I am delighted with the aids performance and cost savings, also the audiologist and fitting. Maybe not the same for some, but for me at 76 it’s well worth the return journey.

In reply to @billgem

  • The ability to adjust the hearing aid somewhere other than Costco can be important because I live more than 2 hours away from a Costco. Driving 4+ hours roundtrip simply for an adjustment seems a tad onerous to me.
  • I would buy my hearing aids there because apparently at Costco a set of aids cost about the same as a single aid at a usual hearing aid outlet: Beltone, Hearing Life, Miracle Ear, etc.

In reply to @MDB

“Finding an audiologist willing to do so might be another matter.”

Meaning that audiologists at the usual retail outlets would be unwilling? That they might not have the necessary software and hardware required to do it? Both? Something else?

What exactly were you referring to?

In reply to @jim_lewis

The warranty isn’t really relevant to my considerations. If they’re faulty, of course I’d have to return them to Costco. I was thinking more in terms of having the settings adjusted if needed.

In reply to @Fender_Bender

Exactly what I had been wondering about. So one can obtain the software and hardware necessary to make one’s own adjustments? I will try to look into that. Not sure how to go about it, but I’m guessing you can import or input your own and then adjust the frequency amplifications to match it?

Another question: the software and hardware aren’t proprietary and specific to the manufacturer? That could make them much more difficult to come by.

In reply to @Xooterpust

@Xooterpust said:

So one can obtain the software and hardware necessary to make one’s own adjustments? I will try to look into that. Not sure how to go about it, but I’m guessing you can import or input your own audiogram and then adjust the frequency amplifications to match it?

Hearing Aid Self-Fitting and Adjusting [DIY]

This forum is a place for consumers to discuss fitting and adjusting their own hearing aids.

Get the software and learn it without connecting your Aids.

That’s what I did with the Phonak software back in 2011. Been doing it since and have never heard so well.

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