What a con, man

Is it 3 or 4 times better to justify the cost?

Is there any guarantee that spending more will produce any better results? In my case I finally got an honest answer from an AUD, any one who sells you another set of HA’s is a thief.

@thefrioman said:

The only difference is on the level of adjustment for the features . The branded version might have 5 options to modify for a feature set and the Costco version might have 3 for the same feature set. At the end of the day the functionality are identical your are getting same hardware and function . This is what they do to justify the non Costco brand are supposed to be superior

The Jabra Pro 10s have the same range of adjustment as the top level Nexia. I believe they have the same specs, too, though there may be a difference or 2.

Dr Cliff’s main message, as I understand it, is that the practitioner is more important than the device. I’ve gotten good service from Costco for 14 years, though not always from the same person. Maybe next time I buy aids I’ll try out a local private clinic.

I’m not sure how wide a selection private clinics offer. Costco offers 3 brands. The private clinics around here tend to specialize in one brand. There’s an ENT office that sells several brands with unbundled services, but my insurance pays for bundled services, not unbundled.

The original quote in the image that started this thread seems to imply that a Costco customer would have to go elsewhere for REM. But that’s not true; REM is standard practice at Costco.

Sorry - I meant Omnia, not Nexia. What features does the Omnia 9 have that the EP10 doesn’t?

What features does the Nexia 9 have that the EP20 doesn’t?

I did a pretty close comparison between the Omnia 9 and EP 10 user manuals and found no differences except for product and company names. The specs were the same in the manuals I checked in January, 2023. I couldn’t find any differences between the Omnia 9 and EP 10s.

I don’t mean to argue here. I’d like as many facts in the public forum as possible.

There are multiple business models at play here. We pays our money and makes our choice.

It is my understanding that the only difference is the lack of tinnitus support. Costco disables it in all their hearing aids. Otherwise they are the same thing. The Omnia 9s and EP 10s as well as the EP 20s and Nexia 9s.

The Jabra manual documents tinnitus relief support. Costco doesn’t turn it on, but does any DIY’er use it?

No, not at all.

He is however perfectly entitled to choose how he delivers his business model.

By going to Costco you’re making a choice over the degree of commoditization that applies to your hearing aid delivery. I made the distinction that a Ferrari dealership (not second hand car dealer values) could refuse you service based on the way you’d chosen to maintain that car. He is taking just such a view.

You’re making the classic assumption that you can have it all by circumventing the system. He’s sticking to his position: his business is his brand. He maintains his brand by undertaking actions to preserve it. Or would you prefer he undermines his other customers’ choices by servicing other product obtained cheaply elsewhere? Do you think they would be happy with his ethics?

As has been pointed out, in societies where we regard basic healthcare as a right (free at the point of treatment), this isn’t really an issue as nobody is being denied care. You can vote to change the model where you live: cognitive dissonance (making voting decisions and not think the outcomes apply to you) is unlikely to achieve the result you want.

I am making no assumptions at all. I completely understand the commercial aspects.

I simply mean that if he wishes to accept the privilege of using the salutation “Dr” (which he appears to do readily) then he should adhere to the ethical standards expected of any genuine medical professional. That means, I would have thought, putting the commercial considerations to one side, as difficult as that might be.

Maybe I’m just too old fashioned.

It’s fair to ask the question.

I guess it comes down to what is subjectively inferred by his title in your part of the World.

Veterinarians have ethical standards: https://www.avma.org/resources-tools/avma-policies/principles-veterinary-medical-ethics-avma

Yes, of course. I was just joking!

@brec said:

The original quote in the image that started this thread seems to imply that a Costco customer would have to go elsewhere for REM. But that’s not true; REM is standard practice at Costco

Cliff commented on the same post that costco runs REM but doesn’t have standards to set it to target, which is yet another blatant mischaracterization and/or outright lie.

He’s throwing shit at the wall seeing what sticks. Majority is blatantly false

@aferack said:

I have to agree. It shouldn’t matter where the hearing aid was purchased from. Dr Cliff will be okay with doing a REM from a product purchased from a “crappy” audiologist but not from Costco? It would seem that it’s not about hearing health anymore. It is a double standard

Cliff presents himself as someone who wants best practices because he cares about what’s best for the individual with hearing loss; he says as much in videos and in comments. YET when push comes to shove it’s about the money.

Costco sells for less AND uses best practices in every part of the test and fitting, so Cliff says the service in inferior

Costco sells the same product that private practices sells, so Cliff claims that somehow it’s still inferior even with the same exact feature set and programming options (other than a tinnitus noise setting)

Costco offers free follow up and adjustment care, so Cliff says again says something general like “you get what you pay for”

It’s all a money play. By refusing to run REM (even for a substantial amount of money) for a costco hearing aid he’s showing that it’s not about the patient it’s about the profit.