Costco hearing aids. Appointment wait times?

Hi Abram, I hope you’re enjoying life Down Under. My Costco appointment wait time is typically about two weeks. Longer appointments are harder to book than shorter ones. And my El Paso Costco does not seem to encourage online appointments. I realize the online services are limited, especially since they can’t do real ear measurements that way.

Thanks. Yes, I’m enjoying it here in NZ. Missing family and friends, but making some new friends, and nice to be near wife’s family. Thanks for the sentiment.

Interesting about telehealth. That was another question I had… whether or not they actually encourage / provide regularly those services.

If I’m making a list it seems like the main drawbacks of costco are:

• They refer out for complex cases (tinnitus/unilateral, asymmetric, or severe loss/conductive losses, exceptionally poor word rec, wax) - not sure how universal this is, but this is what audiologists report receiving costco referrals for in some areas.
• No Phonak / Sonova aids currently available
• High percentage dispensers, with experience level varying (same old story, some of the HIS’s are great, so not necessarily a knock on costco)
• While they mandate REMs, reports come in that not all providers are equally expert in providing the service (this is a problem beyond costco too of course)

My experience with Costco was less than 2 weeks to get the initial appointment then to be fit with the new aids was another appointment that took less than 2 weeks.

This Costco allows the aids to be dropped off anytime you visit for cleaning or simple repairs.

This Costco also has 1 audiologist and 1 or 2 HIS at the store regularly. The experience level is 10+ years for each of the HIS fitters. They both are highly rated in my opinion. These fitters regarded the audiologist there as a very experienced audiologist that they could always depend on for answers.

I suspect experience level varies a lot from store to store. Our stores have quite a bit of turnover.

In my case at Costco I was able to get in the next day, and fitted 3 days later with Jabra Enhance Pro 20s. Hard to beat that.

If your need is a small one (short appt or minor tech thing) I find that simply showing up at the opening time, or before, is a good bet. Usually one of the techs will find a moment to help you or tell you when to come back. They can often fit you in.

Two weeks for a hearing test; a few days if I’m having trouble. It took 2 weeks to get M&RIE receivers and molds, 10-14 days for new aids time ('10, '15, '20, '23).

I’m in Illinois. Once I got 2 new receivers out of warranty from the Dedham, MA store, and a few months ago I got new wax guards and domes from another store outside of Springfield, MA just by showing up.

One of the reasons I went with my nearby private audi office (three people on staff, plus counter person who does cleanings and appts.) was that my local Costco quoted longish waits for an appt., even for cleanings. when wax clogs my aids, even a high end model becomes useless. At my local audi, I can literally walk in the door and get a cleaning. However, now that I have a Jodi vac, this service isn’t necessary!
The Costco tech I encountered was…less than enthusiastic, or looking to problem solve, or help for that matter. BUT: this is a 'two time" experience at one Costco many years ago… As others have said, quality of service may/will vary from store to store, and month to month as people move in and out. Many here have had good experience with Costco.
My right ear in particular is difficult for a number of reasons. Both ears have been reconstructed heavily through multiple surgeries. General Practitioners don’t know what they’re seeing when they look in my ears. My right ear has profound loss. I need a power receiver and custom domes. I’m not sure if the techs at my local Costco can handle that. Maybe! But again, after trialing two aids at Costco, I ended up at my local provider and have stayed. Part of it has to do with familiarity–they know me and my hearing issues. Costco has a bit higher turnover. For many, this may not matter.

The key here is to be flexible with the scheduling.

Southern California: 4-5 weeks till initial appointment, device fitting after another 3-4 weeks.

Here in TX, I called and got a next day appt, was fitted 3 days later. Jabra Enhance Pro 20.

Are wait times even important? For the initial hearing test and fitting, I would say no. Most people getting hearing aids procrastinate for months, if not years.

For people who have hearing aids who need new replacements quickly, due to loss or catastrophic failure, it could be a factor.

But as others have noted, Costco provides excellent post-sales service with no appointment necessary.

And as noted by many, wait times vary wildly, sometimes even at the same location, so an anecdotal survey like this is not going to yield any useful results.

Listing other “cons” of Costco gives this query a bad smell. Are we going to make a list of the “cons” of using a private practice?