How to compare Costco Philips Hearlink with Oticon More and Jabra Pro with Resound Omnia

And this from Soundly’s site comparing Jabra models. Am I right in seeing that the Select 50 (from Jabra site) just isn’t sold at Costco?

The main thing is that I want disposable batteries, and it looked like I couldn’t get that in a Jabra at Costco. Thanks for all the help

So yes I’m aware of those models, but only the Jabra pro 10 is the Omina, so that’s pretty much the one to be focusing on, the Jabra site doesn’t sell the Pro 10 because it’s not OTC, and this is where your confusion is I believe, the 61 is 312 battery and 62 is 13 batteries, and the Costco Mini 61 is rechargeable, remember that you need a audiologist to buy and use the Costco Pro 10 ( Omina) the Jabra website it’s not needed (well not yet anyway) they may offer remote support in the future.
So I don’t know if Costco is selling battery models, but doesn’t hearingtracker say they are?

@tenkan said:

so that’s pretty much the one to be focusing on, the Jabra site doesn’t sell the Pro 10 because it’s not OTC, and this is where your confusion is I believe, the 61 is 312 battery and 62 is 13 batteries, and the Costco Mini 61 is rechargeable, remember that you need a audiologist to buy and use the Costco Pro 10 ( Omina)

Bingo! I think you nailed it. I just joined Costco the other night and asked a very busy person at the hearing aid center, and he told me that they didn’t have Jabras with disposable batteries, only Philipps. (That’s what attracted me to this thread). Maybe what I didn’t know was that he was referring to ONLY OTC’s). I hope that’s the case. I have a “free hearing test” here locally in my town tomorrow with someone that has Widex somthing-or-others, and my appt with Costco on Nov 25. I was encouraged that I would be able to get Jabras (like you said, the pro 10) with disposable batteries like PhilBob said above.

@philbob57 said:

Costco does not offer a 6 month trial. Rather, you buy a pair of aids, and they promise to give your money-back if you return the aids on or before the last day of the 6 month period. The return process is pretty easy the first time. My understanding is that they frown on multiple returns. I started with rechargeable Jabras and switched to Jabras that use the 13 batteries. I might have trouble if I wanted to switch to, say, Philips 9040s

Again, thanks so much, will keep you posted

My bet is that the Pro 10 from Costco is the same as the 200 from the Jabrahearing site. If the Pro 10 that uses the 13 battery is unavailable, it may be because ReSound and Costco are preparing for the Pro 20, which should be at the Nexia level.

Costco uses mainly ‘Hearing Instrument Specialists’, not audiologists to fit aids.

I don’t think the 200 is OTC. It looks to me as if you have to take a hearing test (remotely), and the aids are fitted remotely. Audiologists are available to set the aids up and adjust them as you go along.

To me, ‘OTC’ refers to aids that the buyer adjust themself.

WRT software, there are 2types of software I can think of. The most obvious is the app that allows us to control the aids from (smart)phones. I’m less than totally happy with the app on IOS. I hate the app on the Android phone I had (Galaxy S20 5G), but the app isn’t certified for that exact phone.

More important is the software that runs in the HAs. ReSound’s programming isn’t perfect, but no one’s is.

Thanks for the corrections, User990 and Brec, especially WRT the 3rd type of software.

I became curious about the definition of ‘OTC HA’, so I searched the web and close to the top of the response list was OTC Hearing Aids: What You Should Know | FDA, part of which I’ll quote below.

OTC Hearing Aids:

• Are air-conduction hearing aids that do not require implantation or other surgical intervention. They bring amplified sound into the ear canal. Sound then moves through the eardrum and three tiny bones in the middle ear to reach the inner ear, where it’s processed and sent to the brain.
• Are intended for use by people 18 years of age and older to help with perceived mild to moderate hearing loss.
• Allow users to control the device settings and customize the device to the user’s hearing needs, through tools, tests, or software.
• May use wireless technology or may include tests for self-assessment of hearing loss.
• Are available to consumers over-the-counter without the supervision, involvement, or prescription of a licensed health care professional. You can buy OTC hearing aids that meet the FDA’s requirements in a store or online.

Within the OTC hearing aid category, consumers 18 years of age and older with perceived mild to moderate hearing loss may have the following device options:

• Legacy (traditional) and wireless hearing aids which include basic features like volume control and preset programs.
• Self-fitting hearing aids with or without a wireless feature that have greater customization through technology such as hearing tests, software, and smartphone apps.

I did a little research on similarities/differences between the Pro 10s and the Enhance 200s.

I didn’t see anything about the fitting software for the 200; that’s under the covers because the 200s are managed remotely. The User Guide for the 200 is simpler than the one for the Pro 10. The Pro 10 doc talks about tinnitus control; the 200 doc mentions tinnitus only in relation to cybersecurity. The Enhance Select app doesn’t look the same as the Jabra Pro 10 or ReSound Smart 3D app, so maybe the 200 is not the same as the Pro 10.

OTOH, the pricing/service similarity makes it look pretty close to Costco’s offering, with remote services substituted for Costco’s face-to-face initial setup. Maybe they are the same, maybe not.

@billgem said:

I joust finished a 5 week trial with Philips 9040. I made this decision based on raves I’ve read here. I had them adjusted after 3 weeks by a very experienced audiologist (not an HIS) who has previously fitted and adjusted hearing aids for my ears very effectively.

In contrast to my high expectations, these were the worst hearing aids for my ears that I’ve worn or trialed in the past 8 years - including a pair of Oticon Opn 1’s, which I wore for 5 years. I can’t explain why my experience was so different from others’. My complaint is that speech was often garbled and asking people to repeat didn’t enable me to understand any better. I can’t imagine that these are anything like the Real or the Mire.

I gained some new insight today into my trial experience with the Phillips 9040 hearing aids. I went in for my annual hearing test with my regular audiologist (not Costco). The results revealed deterioration in word recognition scores in my left ear over the past year. I believe that this new information explains my difficulties with the HearLinks and that my trial was not a valid test of their capabilities.

Reading and trying very hard to follow the subject of “differentiation” in this thread, it seems as if the cost, to the manufacturers, of creating and maintaining these differences between models of the same hearing aid benefits only the marketers and not the consumers. If the cost of creating and maintaining this differentiation were eliminated, the cost of manufacture and distribution of only the top of the line model would be no more than the cost now of the bottom of the lineup.
I learned a lot about “market segmentation” years ago in my MBA classes, with Polaroid and General Motors being studied as examples, but for a health care product the application of this doctrine feels unconscionable.

I had the same experience with the Costco Philips 9040. After a 3 week trial I returned them and am now using my old Phonak that I purchased at Costco 8 years ago. They are much better but I still need to get newer HAs. Also, the Philips are made to work with iphones and I have a new android but the HAs weren’t reliable with my android phone.

Yes. Disposable batteries are the best. My first 2 pairs of hearing aids were Costco with the disposable batteries and the last set was the rechargeable with the big bulky charger that takes time and bulky to carry everwhere. I hate it! Always runs out when I’m on the phone or at a movie and have to leave because can’t hear. Last month I was on a planes for very long time and had to keep the charger available to use every 12-14 hours. Upon landing the charger got lost on the plane and Greece doesn’t have Costco to get a new charger. Not to mention buying the electric converter needed and to make it work. Ruined the trip not being able to hear anything. They are the most inconvenient type batteries and I would pay more to not have recharging ones. Fortunately Costco replaced the charger when I returned from trip due to their generous policies, but can never replace the experience of a ruined vacation. Never will I buy recharging batteries hearing aids again. Ever.

Welcome to the forum!

I feel as you do. Thanks for voicing your concerns.
My HA’s batteries are rechargeable. I had no choice.

I think it depends on the age of the batteries and the amount of streaming you use. My (Oticon More) 2 year old HA’s will last 16 hours with no streaming, but with typical use (2-3 hrs per day of streaming from phone and laptop) my left one dies around 14 hours (it may or may not be relevant my left ear requires higher gain than the right ear). Fortunately at this time I normally have a 20 min period early evening when I use a hot tub so take them out and give them a small charge. I expect that another year from now (Hopefully just before the warranty expires) the batteries will need replacing.

With the small size of the hearing aids (thus a small battery size) and the amount of processing involved with multiple microphones and amplification of different frequencies (and including neural net AI) together with Bluetooth RF Rx I think it is very impressive how they have managed to get rechargeable HA batteries with ~3 yr lifespan.

My Signia telecoil rechargeable aids get 36 hours of use, if I recall correctly. I’ve never come near that amount of hours of constant use, so I can’t say. But I don’t stream much.

the variety of useable hours people report for their rechargeable aids amazes me. It’s all over the map.

Big, bulky chargers? Not mine. My main one ways about three ounces. My travel charger, that holds three full charges, weighs the same and fits easily in the palm of my hand.

I think the key to sorting out the name confusion is that the Jabra Enhance Select is not the same hearing aid as the Jabra Enhance Pro. The image capture you provided from the Soundly website says parenthetically that the Jabra Enhance HAs were previously named “Lively.” Lively was a manufacturer of OTC hearing aids bought by GN ReSound to enter the OTC market. Jabra Enhance Pros are medical devices sold by prescription only (a qualified determination of the extent and nature of your hearing loss must be made before you can buy such hearing aids). The Enhance Selects, as OTC HAs, would only be allowed to be powerful enough to treat mild to moderate hearing loss and don’t require any diagnostic qualifying exam and fitting by an HCP to be used. You wouldn’t be able to buy the Enhance Select HAs with HP or UP receivers, etc.

The specs for the MP Jabra Enhance Select 300 receivers, though, are very similar to (maybe even better than?) the specs for the Jabra Enhance Pro 20 MP receivers. With the Jabra Enhance Pros one is going to get a lot more hands-on advice, examination, and treatment at a Costco Hearing Aid Center than with the Jabra Enhance Selects, which are roughly the same price for the 200/300 model, even though they are OTC aids with, it seems, mainly remote assistance. Also, only a one-year warranty for the Selects vs. a three-year for the Pros at Costco, IIRC.

Jabra Enhance Select 300 MP receivers (click on ADVANCED SPECS link under “Specs & dimensions” dropdown on right side of following page: Enhance Select 300 - Jabra Enhance1):

Jabra Enhance Pro 20 MP receivers (click on Receiver-in-Ear guide under “Product documents” dropdown on following page: Jabra Enhance Pro 20 | Jabra Support2):

I have had the Philips 9040 for about a month now - previously I had Oticon OPN1 (2017). I find the Philips so comfortable I sometimes forget they’re in - the Costco HAD gave me both 10 and 8mm domes, with the 10s initially installed. I switched to the 8s as I found them more comfortable. The sound quality is excellent - better than the old Oticons. Very happy with them.