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Hearing aids in Australia

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I tried Rextons from Costco and sound was awful after 3 attempts to tweak with the Costco audiologist. Really tried hard to get used to them but just found that everything sounded too artificial. I am new to hearing aids and have mostly high frequency loss in one ear, but a bit of loss in the second as well. I also make music and avid music listener, so am fussy about sound.

It seems in the USA, aids are kicking off and would love an option where I could treat hearing aids more like wearing glasses. Eargos look good to me. Even the Jabra Enhance Pros look interesting. But you can’t purchase these in Australia.

Costco seems like my only option. The cost of hearing aids outside of Costco are crazy. Widex 440s seem like best sound choice for natural sound but I don’t think I could ever justify the cost.

What do ppl recommend for choices in Australia? I’m tempted to go back and try the Philips but a little disheartened by my Texting experience.

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Edited

Welcome to the forum.
I agree the cost of aids in Melbourne is atrocious. 5 years ago I paid $7.500 which is sheer madness, and out of most people’s pocket range.
Did you try the Jabra at Costco? We have 4 Costco stores here in Melb, if your able try a different Costco store if one is available? Maybe a different might get a better hearing experience for you.

Would you be able to manage the at home for adjustments if you are technically able? Because being able to do this opens up purchasing online aids. Eg Widex. A few of the musicians in the forum use Widex off Oticon, not sure what level of technology they use though or type either. Hopefully some of the musicians will chime in to give you more help. @Musician purchased his online and they came already programmed for him. That’s a possibility if you have a copy of your .
Hearing Australia will only sell you Signia aids. Good luck.

You have come to a great place to learn about hearing aids and your hearing loss.

Hearing loss and how to deal with it are challenging. Getting aids in Australia, Europe or the USA makes little difference. It’s all about you getting educated. It’s that simple.

Costco is hard to beat for those learning about hearing aids. And as you said, not all fitters are created equal.

Hang in there and keep learning trying.

If you’re a musician, you might actually be happier with the 220s than the 440s, and that may improve your cost options.

In reply to @Deaf_piper

Ive booked an appointment to try the Phillips 9030 on Friday. Well have to redo my hearing test (at Epping Costco). Am aware the 9040s are potentially on the horizon. I did look into Jabras as well…seem to see more positive reviews on the 9030 (from users) particularly around natural sound. But happy to hear why Jabras may be a better option.

There is no silver bullet for hearing loss. Welcome to this forum and learned more about it. Patience is money. Do not rush. Test the first and let your ears decide. It might take 3-8 months to decide.
You can post your on this forum, there were be experienced people to helps along.

@Deaf_piper said:

If you put Jabra into the search function you will get lots of people’s thoughts on the Jabra.

The latest Jabra branded model at Costco is really the Resound Omnia, Searching for Jabra will turn up may hits for their aids which are totally different.

In reply to @user467

One of the differences between the different tech levels is how many channels, or pieces, the hearing aid divides the sound up into. Dividing it up and manipulating the pieces separately can be beneficial for managing noise and emphasizing speech, but can be detrimental to music.

Have you checked out Value Hearing Aids in Australia? They publish a “Hearing Aids Buyers Companion”. It presents an analysis of the full range of hearing aids available in Australia and at different price points. I found it very valuable a few years ago even though I’m not in Australia. I believe that the download is free from their website:

Hearing Test Audiologists | Hearing Aid & Specialists | Value Hearing55

Value Hearing provides you with the best Audiologist, Hearing Tests & Hearing Aids in Perth, Sydney, Canberra, Brisbane, and Gold Coast.

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