SUMMARY/tl;dr: (I decided to re-post this since I didn’t include a summary.)
ears (unavailable) shares their experience trialing Rexton Reach and hearing aids at Costco for mild-to-moderate hearing loss and tinnitus. While they preferred the CIC for its discretion, lower wind noise, and natural sound quality, they experienced irritation and fit issues due to the lack of custom acrylic molds. Looking for alternatives, ears (unavailable) asks the community several questions regarding their next steps. They inquire whether Costco uses physical or digital ear impressions and weigh the reliability of the familiar Phillips 9050 /CIC against the newly introduced SoundGear AMP IIC/CIC. Additionally, they ask about the cost and difficulty of using standard disposable batteries, as the new models are not rechargeable, and seek advice on the trade-offs between the reduced occlusion of IIC models versus the ease of daily volume adjustments.
FULL:
Hi, I apologize in advance this is going to be a post. I started my hearing aid/masking devices journey 2 years ago. I’ve had mild-to-moderate hearing loss and tinnitus for about 4-5 years now but wasn’t able to look for solutions early on. You can read my 1st post to this forum here: Costco Hearing Aids and Tinnitus Masking feature self-enabling
Update since that post. In 2025, I did a walk around trial at Costco with both Rexton Reach RIC and CIC. I was floored by the sound quality of both and I decided their wasn’t enough difference in sound clarity between the RIC and CIC to rationalize the RIC if I wanted something more discreet. I also didn’t care for features like Bluetooth since the sound was natural enough that I could still listen to sound from my phone, TV, car speakers with no real discernable difference. The CIC has other benefits, such as less wind noise and more fit compatibility with headsets/glasses/hats/etc. I also found the amplification on it’s own to lessen the volume of my tinnitus enough that I didn’t need the tinnitus support capability of the RIC, which I would’ve had to enable myself through a project.
The problem become the irritation and the fit. Rexton Reach CIC has superb sound quality like its non-Costco counterpart Signia/Widex is well known for, so that makes sense. However the Rexton Reach CIC doesn’t have a custom acrylic mold, only the “instant fit” silicone rubber domes or sleeves. Being brand new to HA’s I just wanted to find something that worked and move on from the subject. Unfortunately after having them for awhile with the larger silicone dome and sleeves I would get irritation. In a follow-up I picked up smaller domes, they helped a little with irritation but I still had some and then I had issues with it coming loose, it never fell completely out to the floor but it came close. I had to constantly push it back in otherwise it would rest partially outside the canal which meant I wasn’t getting the full amplification. I actually think this should be discontinued since it’s supposedly one of their most returned HA’s (the CIC, not the RIC version) but I decided to gamble with it anyway.
Regardless I felt this was a good 1st step in the world of hearing aids and narrowing down what I’m looking for. Even if the RR CIC wasn’t what I needed, it was able to get me to take the plunge. So I returned it and have been without HAs for a couple months now which hasn’t been great. I restarted the process of looking into what Costco is offering. I know I want custom mold CIC or IIC which meant only Phillips 9050 was the option. However I discovered SoundGear is entering the space and would like opinions on their CIC/IIC along with Phillips 9050 CIC/IIC. I could find plenty of positive reviews of the RIC version as it’s been out for 1 (2?) years now but none specifically about the CIC/IIC version. I did try Oticon Intent RIC, the non-Costco counterpart, at a /Audiologist practice before I went to a Costco back in '24. I didn’t like the sound from it but that could’ve been more the fitter who seemed new rather than the device itself. So I’m willing to give Phillips/Oticon another try and SoundGear since Starkey is a highly reputable brand that’s supposedly been in the in-ear HA market since the '70s.
Few questions/points to figure out as I restart my Hearing Aid/Costco journey:
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Occlusion. From what I’ve read the custom acrylic mold are more likely than the silicone domes to have this issue. However from what I’ve read a IIC would supposedly have this problem less so if it goes past the 2nd bend. There’s also venting. Anything else I need to consider here?
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How suited Costco HA specialist are at doing an impression. Fitting and adjusting RIC is one challenge but the mold is another and the mold seems to have to be perfect. It seems you can send it back to shave off any excess but I’d rather avoid all that (though I may not have a choice). Also, it has to be more difficult making a mold for an entire CIC/IIC unit vs. only a small custom receiver attached to a behind-the-ear unit? I’m still set on doing a CIC/IIC but this is just a thought I had.
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Does Costco only take physical impressions or digital impressions as well? Digital seems to be more exact but I don’t know if Costco will be at that stage yet, the one specialist I talked to late last year (at a different location than the Costco that did my 1st HA) seemed to suggest they’ll be physical but I wonder if this varies from store to store (I have 3 Costco’s near me) or if the SoundGear will start requiring digital impressions (still seems unlikely for Costco).
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While SoundGear is coming from the same company as Starkey, which is very reputable, this is still going to be a very brand new, unproven SKU. It could be less of a “gamble” to go with Phillips because the specialist have spent more time with this product and know it in-depth. Especially since Phillips is supposedly over half of their sales. Although I imagine the CIC/IIC versions of the 9050 are a tiny fraction of those.
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Battery. I liked the convenience of Rexton Reach CIC being rechargeable whereas the Phillips 9050 CIC/IIC isn’t and the SoundGear CIC/IIC won’t be either. I’ve never dealt with those tiny batteries. How difficult are they to replace and how much do they cost? Does Costco offer a bulk discount on them? I do think there are Pro’s of using a battery instead of rechargeable so I’m less concerned with that adjustment and more concerned with cost.
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I know IIC will likely have less occlusion than CIC but I don’t know if I’ll be able to adjust the volume as easily on them. With my Rexton Reach CIC, I found myself going up or down by 1 or 2 volume settings throughout the day as I got more tired or plugged up from allergies, etc. The ability to adjust the volume myself and without much hassle (RR CC had an app) is probably essential.
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Modes. I care a lot the quality of music over speakers. In the Rexton Reach “Music” mode it sounded very natural and it had me enjoying music again since I wasn’t missing sounds. I ended up just leaving it in this “music” mode all the time out of convenience and it worked well enough for other environments.
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Rexton Reach could come out with a custom mold in their next generation, in a few months? Or when is that expected? I haven’t heard any rumors about that but it just seems like a logical progression. I could spend all this time going in, making a decision on a Phillips or SoundGear CIC/IIC, making a purchase, taking an impression, waiting for it to come in, going and picking it up, discovering the mold needs to be adjusted, discovering the profile needs to be adjusted, etc. just for a few weeks later for Rexton Reach to come out with their own custom mold and start the process all over again.
That’s all my current thoughts and questions regarding hearing aids and appreciate any feedback you may have. Now since I consider tinnitus and hearing loss as the same thing I wanted to mention I’ve also been looking at masking devices, not built-in with the HA but seperately. I will make a whole other thread for this in time but for now.
During sleep, since thats primarily when the hearing aids are off, I was considering a sleep band like from SleepPhones, Manta, Musicozy or Snoozeband are the popular ones I’m seeing. At night I need something that will block out a little sound and not disturb others. I did try Soundcore/Ozlo sleep buds but I found them either painful, irritating, lacking helpful sounds or lacking accurate volume adjustment and returned those hence why I’m researching the sleepbands. During the day in rare times I don’t have my HA’s in or have a spike, I’m considering a noise generating speaker like those from SoundOasis which has a few different models. Any thoughts and experiences with any of these would help. I don’t have experience with them and I’m still researching them, which is why I ask since HA users with tinnitus have probably gone down that rabbit hole too. I play cricket sounds through my phone but the apps crash eventually and takes up the phone that I need for normal phone use.
Well, this has been a long post but a necessary one. Looking forward to any feedback. Thank you.
You’re ignoring this member’s posts.