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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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I suspect there would be even more hearing aids sitting in drawers if patients thought they’d have to pay a fee to get their hearing aids checked.

In reply to @MDB

@MDB said:

Unfortunately in many cases, that conversation can end up being high pressure sales.

Yes, and it’s too common in some business models. If I was in the biz, the last thing I’d want is for clients to ever have reason to compare my operation to car dealers. Another model I dislike is industrial sales which aim to have customers who never ask the price, because the customer simply marks it up and passes it along to the final purchaser. It frequently results in a weird paradigm where the final purchaser can simply buy the product direct from the maker (often in China) for half the price, and receive the same or even better service.

In reply to @MDB

@MDB said:

I suspect there would be even more hearing aids sitting in drawers if patients thought they’d have to pay a fee to get their hearing aids checked.

I agree. On the other hand, the bundled model is built on the unstated premise that clients who don’t need much hand holding subsidize those who take advantage of multiple trials etc. While it’s problematic to tell some clients they need to pay their own way, instead the clinics ended up creating a huge opening for Costco to come along and take perhaps a third of the market, and shine a bright and embarrassing light on the clinic model. If the clinics end up with only the most time-consuming clients I won’t feel sorry for them.

I’ve never had “high pressure” applied where I’ve been–a limited number of shops, though, and only one over the last 25 years. Look, I get a free test (although I bring in my last recent test from Kaiser) and fitting for a trial aid. Then I might try an upgrade. come in an out for adjustments over a month and a half. Get a music program installed–always. then custom molds, after trying a variety of domes. At the end, if I don’[t like them, I can start all over with another aid.

this is more complex than buying a vacuum or even a car. And purchasing an aid isn’t just purchasing an object, like cooking pan. But people who are new don’t really know that. So quoting a price on an aid as if it were any object is itself a bit duplicitous. You’re not buying an object. You’re trying for a successful or the best outcome for your hearing in a variety of situations. Things like quick and easy access to an audi, or not, are part of it. Skill is too.
So, yes, an initial consult isn’t necessarily just a means to begin fleecing the client. It’s necessary in a way for the audi and the client jsut to see the lay of the land. fitting is a process.

@jeffrey said:

You’re not buying an object.

Of course. But the reality is that most clinics promise full service in a bundled price. They can make that promise on a website or in person alongside the object price. Most have decided they prefer to do it in person, and that will inevitably drive up the price. Imagine this scenario - I go to one clinic and they spend a couple hours before quoting $6000 for specific aids including excellent full service. Then I spend a couple hour at a second clinic and they quote $7000 for the same specific aids also including excellent full service. So I complain to the second guy that he’s $1000 high and he explains that part of the reason for his high price is that he has to waste a lot of time giving free hearing tests and quotes that go nowhere. Not that I have any easy answers to such things but there are obviously some absurdities in the business model. Costco does the bundled thing as well yet has no problem displaying sample aids with a price tag.

When I went in for the first time to my hearing center, I gave the audi my chart, and mentioned my budget. He worked from there. If you begin with a chart, and then mention your priorities (speech, speech in noise, music, etc.) and audi will typically have an idea for a good match. He’ll suggest that. You ask how much it costs. This has all taken about ten minutes. The audi has to have a sense of the client and his or her needs and desires before beginning the process of matching them up with an appropriate aid. A client could come in thinking a quoted price for an aid without enough power for their loss should work. The audi might know otherwise, and know that power molds will be required, driving up the price. Then the client might get in a huff and leave. etc.

In reply to @jeffrey

@jeffrey said:

When I went in for the first time to my hearing center, I gave the audi my chart, and mentioned my budget. He worked from there. If you begin with a chart, and then mention your priorities (speech, speech in noise, music, etc.) and audi will typically have an idea for a good match.

The problem there is the first time you get aids you may not know your priorities or even what they reasonably might be. I want to hear better seems kind of built in. Heck, when I got my KS9s, which are my second pair, I had no idea how I’d feel about the way they do phone calls, and the truth is that if by the time I have to replace them, if Costco doesn’t have any other aids that do phone calls with an Android phone without an intermediary device as slickly, I may have to consider a private audi. And when I got the KS9s my thought was nice, but not a big deal. I don’t use the phone that much. When I trialed the KS10s, I didn’t expect to like rechargeables but did (turned them back in because they didn’t help me hear better).

In reply to @prodigyplace

@prodigyplace said:

I think the main benefit is increased profits for the fitter.

Depends on whether you come to your regular appointments or not. If not, then certainly the clinician gets money for nothing. But clinicians are also cognizant of the fact that hearing aids break down in ways that patients won’t necessarily notice, it is very common for patients to walk around for months or years with hearing aids that aren’t functioning, and the clinician would rather avoid that.

But as I said, I’m not a fan of the bundled model. I think it’s on the clinician to educate the patient on the value of regular checks, and then if the patient wants to skip them and walk around with no directional mics for two years, well that’s up to them. Although at that point, a pile of features that they paid extra for are non-functional.

Relatedly, we have a group of patients who have insurance coverage for hearing aids and services who come in every 6 months and upgrade every five years like clockwork. These patients seldom notice enormous changes from older to newer models. I would suggest that a huge percentage of patients who are blown away by a new set of hearing aids are blown away because their old hearing aids are either malfunctioning or haven’t be re-adjusted in five years.

@Neville said:

Relatedly, we have a group of patients who have insurance coverage for hearing aids and services who come in every 6 months and upgrade every five years like clockwork.

Outside of the government funded Medicare and benefits that is rare here in the United States.

Just to be picky: Medicare offers no hearing aid benefits. Some extra cost Medicare Advantage plans offer hearing aid benefits.

All I know is people around here think I have one of the better insurance plans and hearing aids are not covered. I have suggested through our benefits people that they consider adding hearing aid coverage. To me it is at least as important as my covered CPAP.

And some very crappy insurance plans offer some kind of hearing aid insurance to tempt people to buy their insurance. Buyer beware.

Costco only sells major brands. There is no one perfect Aid. but with a 90 trial and 50% of lis price, Costco is, hands down, the best choice.

In reply to @markoo355

Thank you mark00355 - first, for offering OP some actual information rather than snarky unhelpful comments. Also - thank you mentioning the KS10 is no longer at Costco and for this: " I’m telling you this because when you change hearing aid brands, you have to get used to different sounds, some people find it hard to do that, they don’t like change." My husband got KS10 last year at Costco (to OP: yes, it was a good experience) and it is very helpful to know that it is no longer available AND to be aware about what he might experience with brand changes.

For OP: I’ve only read a few of the comments here so far and apologize for the lack of help in the ones I’ve read. You are looking out for your father, trying to help him get the best for him as best you can. Take note of but skim quickly past all the comments that do not offer you any real info. Hopefully someone familiar with the brand you are asking about will chime in with some useful info. My initial thoughts were to be sure you understand any trial period for the Widex (and how that plays with insurance). Insurance coverage seems rare - so IF you learn enough about Widex AND it seems to work well for him in fitting/trial AND the audiologist is someone you and he trust - someone who is thorough, knowledgeable, helpful, who listens and answers questions . . . then the worst case scenario is that somewhere down the line he is not getting all he needs from the Widex and you/he have to pay out-of-pocket for Costco. I know that may still be no small cost, but since Costco is most affordable and usually good quality and if you have more than one in your/his area, he has more than one option to find a good fit with the HA tech . . . maybe use the insurance money for the more expensive brand — assuming it works for him and assuming you learn more about the differences — knowing the cost if he later wants to switch. But - all that is just what I would consider if I were in your position and didn’t have more firm facts upon which to base a decision. I certainly would have paid more but the Costco K10 has been great for my husband so far. My thought was a bit in reverse - we could pay less and then go higher only if we had to should the K10 have not been enough. Good luck!

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