Who says this? You’re putting words into an imaginary clinician’s mouth so that you can be annoyed with them, having yet to ever meet one. I think I mentioned that american audiologists have outrageous student loans and someone here translated that to eight years of student debt.
That being said, let’s not pretend that a B.Sc. is a worthless degree that confers nothing.
I believe that earlier in this very thread, a provider mentioned the 8 years.
And, I did not say a B.Sc or a BA are worthless, and never would. But, I think that most people would agree that the years to earn those degrees do NOT equip someone to do audiology. It is the subsequent years that do that.
I think I saw that your appointment is for tomorrow, Nov 15. Let us know how it works out. My appointment at Costco is Nov 25, and I’m leaning toward the Jabras as well, if I can get them with disposable batteries.
why don’t the private clinicians then simply buy from Costco at Costco’s full retail price and resell to clients, and probably make more money than they do reselling the HAs they buy from the manufacturer?
Ha if only it was that easy, your pushing a lot on the 3, 4 or 8 year degrees whichever is correct doesn’t matter, the “real” culprit is the manufacturer, which equals a “licence” to print money…lots of it! The clinics are just pawns,the manufacturer’s “control” the market, you have to have a “licence” agreement with them to be able to sell legally, just having a B.A or whatever does not give that person the right to buy and sell , the approval system back’s up the manufacturer’s products and they call them “medical devices” now try getting around that! So the “private clinics” are forced to buy from the manufacturer, the agreement’s are water tight I’m afraid, the only real way to save money is buy on eBay and , as in everything!
I think I saw that your appointment is for tomorrow, Nov 15. Let us know how it works out. My appointment at Costco is Nov 25, and I’m leaning toward the Jabras as well, if I can get them with disposable batteries.
Yes, my appointment is for today, 11-15! And when Costco called yesterday to confirm I was coming, I asked if the Jabra Enhance Pro 20 (versus Pro 10) was available yet. The lady said “Yes”! She did point out though that once I have completed my testing and have chosen a , it takes 2 weeks to get it in and programmed for me, as they do not “stock” any HAs right at each store.
She did point out though that once I have completed my testing and have chosen a HA, it takes 2 weeks to get it in and programmed for me, as they do not “stock” any HAs right at each store.
I assume that at least some of the OTC HAs now out there DO perform at least adequately to make a meaningful difference for someone who needs a hearing aid.
This is absolutely true. Apple’s Airpods Pro 2 were adequate for my needs (mild-to-moderate loss plus auditory processing issues). I’d have left it at that, except wearing airpods in professional settings was just not gonna fly. Now, I’m very glad I upgraded to “real” aids, and I wish I’d done it years ago. They’re better in all kinds of ways, including many I’d never anticipated. That said, they were nearly $2000 (used) compared to $200 new for the airpods. Someone who can’t easily afford it, and whose livelihood doesn’t depend at all on appearances, might be better off sticking with airpods.
Hearing aids are just an adjustable, small packaged amplifier. For the most part, they just amplify sound.
You don’t need 8 years of training to adjust them. Costco and our DIYs have proven that time-and-time again, and we now have OTC hearing aids that prove it also.
There a place for 8 years of training, there’s a place for 2 years of training, and there’s a place for DIY.
That’s one way to view the audiologist’s role, i.e. as a technician who makes adjustments on a hearing instrument. And you’re right that only 2 years of training is probably all that’s necessary to make those adjustments. And that’s what Costco does, they sell hearing aids and they adjust them.
On the other hand, most age related hearing loss is progressive. An audiologist’s knowledge is put to best use when s/he functions in the role of treating hearing loss by monitoring and diagnosing each patient’s condition. Someone with a 2year certificate doesn’t have the training to do that.
Costco recommends free hearing tests every two years. Programming an already purchased from Costco may be enough to help age related progressive hearing loss. I personally see an MD twice a year, covered by Medicare and my medigap plan, who I trust to deal with medical hearing loss issues. For me, there is no need to go anywhere near an independent audi, not paid for by any of my health insurers. Other older Costco HA buyers like me may have discovered they can do the same thing and save a whole lot of money.
The main criticism I’ve heard from hearing professionals about Costco is that many of their hearing aid fitters are not audiologists so the quality of the testing may be uneven. I can say that I have been very impressed by the knowledge, professionalism, and communication skills of the non-audiologist I deal with at the Costco in Brandon, Fla. I have learned a lot about my own hearing and hearing aids that I never learned during more than 10 years dealing with a large medical practice and its audiologists.
Service is very important to me. Getting to see an Audi in one or two days scores high and I would not receive this kind of service at Costco. In fact I called to test 940, and there was a 90 day waiting list to see an Audi. Ouch
The other thing you won’t get from Costco is a free pair of if you’re get damaged or mal function. My more ha went in for repair and my Audi gave me a pair to use for two weeks?
Another key consideration for me is word recognition. I have severe hearing loss and damaged hairs. I did self test on word recognition with the help of my wife and for me, the Oticon more, provided the best word recognition scores. We’re they expensive, absolutely. But to me they are worth every penny. I will pay what ever it takes to improve my word recognition score. I don’t believe that the Philip HA would give me the same results? Why would Oticon undermine its flagship HA and offer exactly the same hearing aid for 5000 dollars cheaper.
It sounds to be good to be true? then likely is to good to be true
The jabra, are made from resound. I had a pair of top of the line resound ha. My audiologist recommended for my first hearing aids. For me They had considerable distortion, and when I finally did test them, they produced the poorest word recognition score. I basically threw 6000 dollars away. Everyone is different so I recommend you try the real, and try the 940, and the Jabra. Do a self administered word recognition test with hearing aid s on , in a quiet and noisy environment. Then make your selection. Money is definitely important but not the only consideration
You don’t need 8 years of training to adjust them. Costco and our DIYs have proven that time-and-time again, and we now have OTC hearing aids that prove it also.
The 2 years of training would seem to be a reasonable solution that could serve the vast majority of users if done correctly (as Costco apparently tries to do, but I have no actual Costco HA Center experience YET).
I’m a happy Costco customer because my expectations have been met, but not by new HISes. The new ones have not set my aids up well. I have dealt with a newly minted audi at Costco, and she did very well. It takes experience as well as training to do a good job, in most cases, but the more training, the better, all other things being equal. IME, there’s lots of turnover at Costco, more than I’d expect from a clinic or practice that sells .
Also, at the 2 of 3 ENT practices I have experience with, the aids are unbundled, so the price for the aids alone is reasonable. I’d have bought from one of them, but the unbundling was the problem - my insurance covers accessories (TV streamer, etc.) but only if it’s bought when the aids are bought. Northwestern, the local uni here, has a practice, but when I checked the website years ago, they looked like they thought they knew best and weren’t open to questions or feedback.
Again, the Costco offerings have met my expectations, IMO. If they hadn’t, I’d have had to go for a private practice. OTOH, I expect that if I had started with someone like Um_bongo or Neville, I’d never have gone to Costco. Instead the guy I 1st dealt with tested me and told me I needed a $6,000 pair of HAs without answering my questions.
The other thing you won’t get from Costco is a free pair of HA if you’re get damaged or mal function. My more ha went in for repair and my Audi gave me a pair to use for two weeks?
When my Philips 9010s were close to the end of their warranty, Costco’s audiologist recommended sending them in for refurbishment. I went in one day, asked for the warranty service, and received a pair of 9030s to use while my 9010s were out of my possession (that was before the 9040s were available). I don’t know how common that is to be sure, but it happens sometimes. I also know that when I needed a charger for my Jabras, the local ReSound dealers within 2 hours of where I was staying had none in stock. That shocked me.
Although I’m a satisfied Costco customer I don’t want to give the impression that they’re the be all, end all of hearing aid care. They are good value and if you’re clueless and don’t know where to start, they’re an excellent place to start. However if you’ve found somebody you like and you can afford it, it is very reasonable to stay put.
Let me put something here, while we are talking about what is good enough for who, just in case someone who isn’t already clear on this happens to swing by this thread.
Pediatrics must be an audiologist. A pediatric audiologist, ideally. Costco is not an appropriate place for pediatrics, nor is an the appropriate professional. I would consider “pediatric” to be out to about 18 years, +/- depending on the child.
I suspect Costco would not even see somebody less than 18. Their screening questionnaire starts with year born and will stop anybody less than 18 from continuing. Good point though.
Thinking about it, I’d say any younger (less than 40?) person who’s having hearing problems should likely start with an audiologist. Once one knows why one has the hearing loss and if hearing aids are appropriate, trying Costco seems reasonable. I’ll probably have some say should start with an , but I believe if an audiologist detected anything that might warrant an ENT, they would refer.
That’s not unreasonable. Yes, an audiologist would refer if there were concerns, and a younger person with hearing loss is more likely to be a complex.
I know in big centres who do a lot of work with pediatric hearing loss or with who know a lot about hearing loss. But I also know a lot of ENTs in smaller cities or more satelite clinics who really know very little about the appropriate treatment of or the functional impact of hearing loss. They are looking for something that is a medical concern or that they can correct surgically. I quite commonly get patients coming in saying, “My ENT said hearing aids couldn’t help me” when there are technological solutions that might help them (e.g. mild losses, unilateral losses, profound losses). ENTs are ear doctors, not hearing doctors. They are also neck and throat doctors, unless they are otologists.
Note that this is North America specific. There are other countries where the ENT essentially IS the audiologist.
Yeah, I would be particularly interested if they offer you the best model with disposable batteries, and are you in the US or Canada. Thanks so much
I posted in a new threasd about my experience at Costco yesterday as a first time hearing aid shopper, but Taildragger, you had asked on this thread if you can get the Jabra Enhanced Pro 20 in either rechargeable or replacement battery format. The answer is apparently "yes’ per my Costco audi.
Hi all
I would like to thank you all for posting such stuff as my wife has Costco IS10 and have loads of issues with the charging
We will be looking at alternative brands at Costco in the UK shortly. All advice welcome
Texas Hill Country
Canada