I think a lot of people missed the point of the video. I don’t believe it was the intention of the video to say, “Never use Costco for hearing aids!”. Delete the word Costco from the video and the lessons are the same. The hearing aid business has lots of different players with different business models, different motivations, different skill levels, and different levels of morality. It is part of the overall health care ecosystem but it is still a business. Even if you go to an academic medical center, you will find doctors, audiologists, staff with widely varying degrees of skill and motivation. Dr. Cliff consistently lays out a framework of how you can navigate this complicated system of conflicting values-money vs. service. He tells you what you should expect from a good fitting and when to walk away. I bought my hearing aid, Jabra Enhance Pro, from Costco about a month ago. My exam was thorough and it included with Aurical FreeFit. Unfortunately the audiologist did not like answering questions except to say, “I’ve been doing this for 30 years, that’s why.” I was not told about M& receivers. I wasn’t shown other brands. I went home and did a lot of catch up learning. I went back with increased knowledge and the confidence to ask the right questions. I insisted on trying the M&RIE receiver which I now have. I got a free supply of tulip domes and . I learned how to program the aids on my own should I need to do so. I believe I got a good hearing aid at a very good price. If I need any sort of consultation in the future Ill likely use a different Costco. One thing I didn’t like about Costco is that there is no clear way to communicate with anyone in management about my experience at Costco within the hearing aid division. If anyone has that contact information I would appreciate receiving it.
This last May 2021, my firsts was a MaiHear hearing device from Amazon. $222.00 - thereabouts. It allowed me to hear my wife talking in normal volume, birds chirpping and other sound. It is a hearing amplifier, as basically ALL hearing aids are some type of amplifier. I wanted to see if I could put up with something plugged into my ear canal all day. I could, but then I started to look for somethings better. Don’t get me wrong, these $222 “aids” did work, but their 4 programs were pretty much all one and the same, and the volume of gain was controlled by a dial on each ear. Nice thing was the individual gain adjustment, IE I could p the gain slightly on my Right ear since I have more loss in my Right ear.
Did some research online and checked out the Kirkland Signature 10.0T that was being talked about as one of the best by Consumers Report. - sold at Costco. I bought a membership for $50.00 and set up an appointment in Kalamazoo as I could get in on June 7 for a hearing test compared to early part of August in Wyoming, MI.
The HAS did a great job with the and gave me a print-out. She encouraged Philips HearlLink 9030, but I was more interested in the KS10s, as they were very very close to the Phonak Paradise 90RT. She followed my wishes and we ordered the KS10s in a sort of silver color with M 2 .4.0 receiver. Futher study at home and I called back and asked to swithc that from a Medium receiver to a Power receiver. I was told by a long time friend, an Audiologist in Nebraska that the P series, wtih my hearing loss around 90+ dBHL in 4K and up would last me longer overall. SO I called and had them change to the P receivers and they did that at fitting on the 16th of June. I was fitted then with Power Domes, but I really hated the sound from my voice and chewing, and bought some med Closed Domes from Amazon - fairly inexpensive. I tried them and they were much better! Follow p I had the Medium Vented domes and the Sr. HAS at Kalamazoo re-run the rem with the new domes and adjusted some frequency compression to get rid of my hearing “S” Lisping. .
Fast forward a bit… I was not entirely happy with the HAS in Kalamazoo as she seemed rather indifferent to my wishes and seemed rude to me as an elderly patient/consumer. No worries. I got an appt in Wyoming and I really get along great with the Sr. HAS at that location, AND it’s is about half the distance.
Long story short, I went to LARGE and that helped to hold in lower BASS frequencies for TV Connector and Computer streaming. I also managed to find a tiny paper punch and put a very small vent hole in the closed Large dome and reduced the occlussion effect qute a bit while still keeping in lower frequency sounds. Amy re-run for that and a minor tweak and doing very nice now, except when I first turn them on I get a feedback squeal on the LEFT aid, and have a online appt with her for Oct 4th to make a minor adjustment.
I got laid off/retired due to Covid-19 last July 2020, and so now just living on around $1900/month from retirement. I had ;planned to go to age 70, gut due to circumstances that did not happen. Money is more tight now, so thinking of spending $6000 for a pair of hearing aids is not in the works. I got the KS10s for a decent price of $1400.00 and I am doing very well with them.
As an aside I went to Hear Michigan in Zeeland, and used my Medicare Advantage Plan insurance to buy a back up pair of HAs in case these ever need fixing. I got the cheaper Starkey Livio 1000 and very little out of pocket for them. They also work very good, but the HAS did a quick job of the Audiogram, and did not run REM. on my 2 week follow up she changed the receiver from a 50 to a 60 dB and some minor tweaks and they do quite nicely as well. I love how the KS10s are for phone conversations and phone calls in general and LOVE how the TV Connector streams audio when we are watching TV. My Starkeys are now set up to be turned off with a long press on the bottom rocker and ON with a long press on the upper rocker, and short presses up or down change volume either up or down.
In RECAP The HAS at Wyoming Costco, and HAS at Hear Michigan in Zeeland are very nice, personable and experience people, doing an admirable job. I have NO qualms at all with Costco, as they were, in some regards, even a bit better in the haring test and fitting than the folks at Hear Michigan, wich is an actual hearing aid clinic.
If I would stress one thing is that Hearing Deficient people are missing out, and probabluy not because there is no one to see (clinic) but the price of buying just a tiny device costs thousands. Costco breaks that mold and provides hearing aid service to many that, like me, would otherwise go without. VERY good aid (Rexton, Philips (Demant/Oticon) KS10 (Phonak) Jabra (Resound) all good reputable companies who have been doing this a long time. Costco uses the Walmart approach of supplying the customers with decent products at decent prices.
I can’t agree with this post. Taking an to a different provider could initiate an ongoing discussion (finger-pointing) between the two. My provider can be argumentative at times (I am changing providers for this reason). My current provider would very predictably blame (the separate) audiogram provider for any and all problems with the aids. My current provider has done an accurate job on my audiogram but his continued angry attatude has driven me elsewhere.
I haven’t seen the video…yet… plan to watch it later though, when I get some time, because I am curious about costco hearing…
Regardless, I’ll be watching it with a suspicious eye for sure…
I’ve seen some of his “best practice” videos before. That’s his idea of best practice… not necessarily THE best for everyone and in every situation…
I’m not a medical professional, but an engineer & I’ve seen lots of “best practices” through the years…and have bought into some of them myself… Now that I’m older and while not necessarily wiser I am at least more “experienced”. Folks standing on those soap boxes tend to make me chuckle…
Very new to this. Received my first Audio test from insurance, reviewed the choices. Then went to Costco for the free test. I am an engineer so pardon me for noting the results were extremely close (I will spare you the decimal points). But, the Costco expert actually loaded software on my new phone, let me actually test the top two units for 30 minutes! I was very impressed. More impressed with the price and the knowledge of the accessories. My Costco 4K Smart TV did not actually come with Bluetooth for example. I am probably buying the unit around the end of this month. This site looks great for obtaining good information for that decision.
That is a very good point! I picked one of my 4 in the area. It was a slower day. I basically interviewed the nice lady. She had worked for a doctor’s office for many years before working for Costco. Wont’ go into details, but I was very impressed with her background and professional assistance. We had time to download two different Android Apps and test two models. Perhaps I got lucky or perhaps Costco has this level of standards?
I am new to all this, will be making a decision in about 30 days. Just wondering if this is your first experience or if you have more years to compare? Truly appreciate your and others sharing. It adds confidence to my personal decision.
That is exactly what I did. Costco was about 2 weeks later. I use to calibrate or QA electronics, lots of frequency background. My doctor interned at a famous hearing institute in LA. I had actually visited there many decades ago. Actually meet one of the founders, was granted a 4 hour tour of the research facility. That was actually right up there with my tours of deep space radio telescopes.
I will be following your post. Really appreciate your and others sharing all of this.
Very Valuable! For those of us just beginning, please give us any updates. I want the good, the bad, … the ugly. The truth may not set me free, but it at least helps better manage expectations.
Under that model, the cost of audiology services would likely go up while the cost of hearing aids would likely go down. It’d probably result in a net savings to consumers.
