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Are Costco hearing aids actually better than mid level ones from bigger names like the Widex 220?

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The thing that makes getting hearing aids complicated, is that a weak fitter can make a “premium” hearing aid junk such that you will get more value out of a “low tech” device if the fit is good and the “high tech” fit is bad. And how the hell do you know whether the fitter is good? Years of experience make a difference, but not always. Education makes a difference, but not always. Your gut feeling is probably good. Local word of mouth is probably good.

@Neville said:

a weak fitter can make a “premium” hearing aid junk

@Neville: A case in point would be my 2006 Unitron North Moxi Fit 800s - second from the top model - that have been useless to me since the day they were delivered to my hands.

Even after getting the Regional Manager involved on 3 occasions, the aids could never be adjusted to work for me (in retrospect, AutoSense (or Unitron’s equivalent) was the culprit. Be that as it may, the aids were such junk to me that I gave up on hearing aids and went 2 years past the time that I was actually eligible for new devices from VAC🇨🇦.

My More1s have literally restored my quality of life, but I have no backup because my current audiologist doesn’t want to risk “bricking” the Moxi Fit devices by adjusting them (which I think is BS!).

Anyway, I don’t believe that those Unitrons were inherently “junk”, but they were effectively that to me, since they could never be fitted to my loss.

In reply to @glucas

Hello and yes, I think the original poster is trying to do the best job for his Dad and that’s great. As others have mentioned, getting the right feel from the dispenser is very important. I have worn Widex for many years and have tried other brands in that time when a dispenser may try and push a particular one but for me, Widex doesn’t just enable me to hear, it puts the joy in sound. I have worn Starkey, Phonak, Oticon etc and they will work very well for some wearers but for me they felt like just amplification of speech without enabling the sheer enjoyment of sound. When I tried Widex it just sounded more like an ear, than artificial hearing. I get a level of clarity with speech so that I don’t need any assistive devices. It’s the closest it’s ever been for me, to feeling like you don’t have hearing aids in. I believe an original founder of the company had hearing loss and it makes sense because they seem completely driven to give the best hearing level along with you finding the enjoyment in sound. I can’t hear any speech without my aids in. All of these factors depend on hearing loss, set up, fit and preferences. I think of Widex as like a high end car. You might buy one without the full “kit”” ie 220 but it will have the build and technology of a high end brand and work perfectly for some preferences. I love live music and have the 440s-when watching shows (just like the Widex ad) you can listen to the person next to you whisper about it even when it’s at full blast, whilst hearing the music which sounds beautiful. These are all my personal experiences, and I wish all the best to everyone with their own journeys.

@tinkyp said:

like an ear, than artificial hearing. I get a level of clarity with speech so that I don’t need any assistive devices

@tinkyp: I find it difficult to fully appreciate what you’re saying in the absence of your .

In reply to @user108

I just dropped into this thread and it seems to me your specific question has been answered in the first few posts. Yes, the aids Costco sells are higher tech quality than mid-range aids from other places is what I see members here saying.

That is one of my complaints with my Rexton KS8. I am a 2 hour drive away from any Costco. One year after getting them, Rexton refused to release a firmware update for the newer lPhone and I had one location refuse to even try remote support because they know it does not work. Definitely not Costco’s fault.

@prodigyplace said:

Rexton refused to release a firmware update for the newer lPhone

Well that’s understandable, that’s an older version, if you wanted hands free you had to buy the new platform, I’m pretty sure that all manufacturers do something similar.

@prodigyplace said:

I had one location refuse to even try remote support because they know it does not work

Well that’s a pretty good reason to not offering todo it, I mean if it didn’t support “remote care” then…

For me the biggest plus for Costco aids is the 180-day return policy (U.S.). At the beginning of my hearing aid search the first time, I tried Widex aids from a private clinic. They gave a two-week trial and acted as if they were being generous at that. My feeling has always been with 6 months to test, get adjustments, etc., what’s to lose? You’re not happy? Go get the Widex after. Yes, you have to pay for Costco aids up front, and you get that back if you return them, but I’ve returned aids twice, once when I tried two different brands and only kept the preferred and recently when KS10s didn’t help me hear any better than my KS9s. No fuss, no resistance.

In reply to @tenkan

@tenkan said:

Well that’s understandable, that’s an older version, if you wanted hands free you had to buy the new platform,

They were only a year old at that time. Of course I have suffered with them for 3 more. When Costco called Rexton their solution git these MFI aids was to impair and re-pair whenever they lost connection. I did not want hands-free but just the functionality I paid for.

Edited

IT’s true that the Fitter, AND the proper rubber tips, AND custom molds, if needed, all with proper venting or none, make a difference. When folks give an opinion about ’s, it’s not at all certain that the “aids” are being evaluated. A good aid can sound lousy with improper set up. Even just getting the right rubber tips (I’m forgetting the term, I have custom molds!) can take some time. Phew!

In short a Hearing Aid is not just the hardware. And so: evaluating the audi at your Costco, or wherever, is important too. My HA shop shines with their after care service. A few days ago my audi spent twenty minutes shaping my right custom mold rather than sending off for a new one that might not have functioned any better. No more feedback and better sound. He’s also spent a lot of time with venting options, etc. All free, and easy to get an apointment. This all factors in.

I am over 5 years with my Widex beyond 330’s which I absolutely love for what seems to me like a very natural sound.

Trying to decide whether the Costco route is worth the savings though I really would like an idea of what the savings are.

Costco in Canada makes the Rexton and Philips around 2100 and I assume Widex Moment 330 are in the 5500 range (per pair for both) but would love to get better numbers.

Stuck between wanting the savings that Costco offers, i.e. half the price and recognizing that the Widex are likely going to be better aids.

Does anyone know if there is a way to get prices for Canada for the Widex lineup ?

In reply to @frogman

@frogman said:

Stuck between wanting the savings that Costco offers, i.e. half the price and recognizing that the Widex are likely going to be better aids.

How can you be sure that Widex will be “better” because you won’t really know this until you try/trial the Costco models.
A saving of up 2k is a pretty big difference, well worth a “look see” for the savings alone

@frogman said:

Does anyone know if there is a way to get prices for Canada for the Widex lineup ?

Best way would be to ring around all the clinics in your area and then compare, there’s no recommended retail price list available, it’s whatever the clinic wants to charge for whatever reason they have.

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