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First Costco hearing test

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Dan, Costco also promotes from within. Somebody mention that their tire guy was now fitting hearing aids. That’s likely true. Costco promotes people to better positions based on longevity and employee rating. Some don’t want the management route and this is a way to make better money and rewards them.

The clerk in the department is the person who would get such a promotion and the tire guy above was that too. The one at my store is now doing that. They said it is about 5-6 modules a week and takes 9 months. Costco is paying for the course.

Kinda handy if I also need advice on tyres :grinning:

Somewhat happier though knowing my Costco audio has a masters degree.

Bit the bullet - coughed up A$3130 today for Rexton Legato with a smart controller. Same price I paid PER aid in 2010, not including the controller then that was another, wait for it, $880!

2 ~ 3 weeks turn around, but that’s okay, my existing CICs will hang on that long.

First time ever I actually got to see my own ear drums, courtesy of a clever camera gizmo she stuck in my ear.
Was shocked to learn that my right ear has a large perforation in the middle of the drum, a hangover from having grommets in 2006. When you think perforation, like me your probably thinking a pinprick. Nope, I could drive a car through it. How it works at all is a mystery.
Thinking of going to an to see if would get any value out of a graft to patch it up.

In reply to @MikeinOhio

“. The one complaint I have read is it only streams phone calls to one ear.”

I have used the Phonak Direct for two months. Am on the phone a lot and wore over the ear headset were many years. A regular phone only feeds sound into one ear. Why would you think you need sound going into both the ears? The incoming sound works fine.
When I first got the the outgoing sound quality to the caller on the other end hardly worked at all, when I went back to turn them in a few days later, the audiologist did a software update that it just come in. I would say the quality on incoming is better than 90% compared to the BT headset, and it would seem, after asking various friends to rate the quality they are now getting to be at least 80% of what it was before. That is why I decided to keep them. But I had before I would rate equal to “land lines like quality”.

@miket said:

A regular phone only feeds sound into one ear. Why would you think you need sound going into both the ears?

I had the same thoughts and wondered about it and asked. Several people replied that it helps them hear as much as possible. They might have different losses in each ear and so maximizing the hearing all around helps them.
Try not to challenge people on this. We all struggle with things in our own ways. I’m fine with one ear phone hearing. But who am I to say the next person should be too?

I think everyone would benefit by having the phone call go in both ears, but may be some people would be fine without it.

On the Phonak, is the phone going in only one ear part of or does it work that way through the Com Pilot II also?

The Phonak Direct is NOT mfi. It’s much more standardized. Not locked in to one product for connectivity. I appreciate that from them on this product. It doesn’t stream from the phone though unlike the mfi aids.
I don’t know about the Com Pilot for these aids. I think they offer a device to connect to an audio source and that will come in in stereo.

In reply to @KenP

In Ohio a HAS must pass an exam and be licensed. Don’t just go by degree. Obviously, a Dr of audiology will have more knowledge, but the Costco HAS I use knows her stuff and provides great service. The nice thing about Costco is the price is great, multiple brands to choose from, testing is free, the warranty is great (3 yrs on my Phonaks), and you have have months to return your aids if you are dissatisfied. So. Don’t knock it if you haven’t tried it.

For me, hearing the phone call in both ears vs one ear is like night and day. The sound seems to originate somewhere inside my head, so it’s crystal clear and unaffected by outside noise. Its hard to describe for someone who needs it and hasn’t experienced it.

Dead right. I understand that they are unable to get an aerial in each each for direct connect plus also an aerial for the 2 aids to talk to each other, so if the trade-off is phone in one ear only, then its a deal breaker for me, rather have the streamer to get the full deal.

Edited

Just had my fitting at Costco for my new Resound Fortes. I hadn’t expected this, but the fitter conducted a Real Ear Measurement () test. This test determines whether the aids are actually delivering the sound needed to compensate for your hearing loss, given the peculiarities of an individual’s ear canals. In my case, my aids needed further adjustment in order to bring them up to the prescribed performance. On the importance of real ear measures, see Doctor Cliff’s excellent video at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cHR0Oa6I-wY13

Presumably tests can only be done with style aids and not ?
Useful for me to know as my new aids arrive next Thursday so would be a useful thing to ask about if it is possible.

@SilenceIsGolden said:

Presumably REM tests can only be done with BTE style aids and not CICs

I believe tests can be done with as well as / aids. The REM probe is a thin plastic tube that is inserted all the way into the ear canal, right up to the eardrum, before the aids are inserted. By all means ask your hearing aid specialist and get the test if it’s possible.

They are famous for marking up things 15% or less. In the case of hearing aids, I would assume they are figuring in all the variable costs (labor, materials) when they pick a price.

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