Clone of Phonak

I like the COSCO marketing.
If I was buying hearing aids myself, I’d be at their door.

The guarantee is exceptional. I think it’s 6 months. Bring them back; money refunded.

I think that it should be easy to buy hearing aids. I think that they should work well for us.

I find it hard to compare their hearing aids to the others on the market. My Phonak Audeo Paradise P90R’s are the same (almost?) as COSTCO’s K10’s that are no longer offered. Their marketing genius and sales volumes show they are doing well.

But we all know that setup is very important.

My questions are: will I get the right specialist when I show up at COSCO? Will the setup be right?

Edit: Canada is a different market than the US. When I started checking out their offering they only sold hearing aids in six stores Canada wide. It’s a long long drive from Halifax to Victoria.
They have better market penetration now.

@user490 where are you located?

I understand that when Phonak was the vender that the Phonak Audeo Paradise P90R’s had different features than the COSCO K10’s.

I appreciate Phonaks support of the Paradise P90R’s. And COSCO’s support of the K10.

Actually they were the same, just like the KS9 and the models being sold now, the manufacturers don’t make “special” models just for Costco, they all use the same parts bin, saves them money.

I thought they didn’t have programs for tinnitus masking. My Paradise P90’s do.

@andy8 said:

I figure out that the less you hear the more you pay.

Aspects of the industry have been and are still predatory. It’s hard to tell how much worse it is than other areas of healthcare or reasons for the problem. Perhaps audiology is just not a very viable practice economically and desperation drives problems? Are there any other healthcare items mostly sold bundled? Are there other areas in the US where providers are in-network but not for the primary item they dispense (hearing aids)?

Sorry, let me clarify that when I said better chance of finding a strong clinician in Canada than the states I was referring to Costco specifically. There are lots of good audiologists in the States generally. It’s HIS training that seems a lot more varied there. In Ontario our HIS training is pretty strong, but some of the HIS programs I’ve seen in America are very brief. Additionally, Costco Ontario has good audiology oversight. A lot of the rules pushed out to Costco clinicians are generated IN Ontario I believe, but of course it’s one thing to make protocols and another to make sure people are implementing them correctly. Good oversight takes time and work. Off hand, I’ve been a bit surprised at the seeming lack of oversight even some audiologists in the States seem to have, but I also don’t necessarily understand how their professional bodies work. But Dr Cliff’s network, for example, seems to be attempting to create some of the oversight that Ontario audiologists already have but he doesn’t have body of support for ongoing audits.

You’re right. I’ve had issues with my second and third pair of Phonaks.
Two different clinics.

I just want to hear better

They would have to work a lot better than the Lumity 24 aids I’m using now.