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How to trial Oticon More

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I have KS10 hearing aids. I’’m not dissatisfied with these aids except for battery life. But I’m having more problems these days with speech recognition. I’ve been reading about Oticon and think that I would like to try a more open sound, both to put missing sounds back into my life and perhaps even have an improvement in speech recognition.

Ideally I would go to Costco and get a money back trial. Plus, we are snowbirds and have Costco warehouses at both ends.

My questions are not about whether or not Oticon is the right thing for me. That’s subjective and I need to hear for myself.

My question is about how to get a trial without a financial commitment.

Does Costco carry a hearing aid that has a open presence, like Oticon? I see that Philips is owned by the same company, but it seems that they don’t have the Oticon sort of open sound philosophy. Is there another brand at Costco that I might try?

If not it means that I go to a traditional fitter. I have never done hearing aids with any company other than Costco. My understanding is that once you put down your money with traditional fitters the only option that you have if you don’t like what you bought is to go with another brand that the firm sells. Is this the case? Also, roughly how much money are we talking about for Oticon? Costco prices are great and I’m concerned about sticker shock elsewhere.

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Edited
@Torbill said:

Ideally I would go to Costco and get a money back trial. Plus, we are snowbirds and have Costco warehouses at both ends

@Torbill: I don’t wish to be intentionally rude, however, I will be blunt - if you are well-heeled enough to be a "snowbird ", you probably have the wherewithal to pony up and pay to try Oticon through a “traditional fitter”.

Looking for a free trial from an audiologist puts the financial burden of your trial (if you don’t buy) squarely on the shoulders of those of us who did (buy).

That’s not equitable, to my way of thinking…

@Torbill said:

I see that Philips is owned by the same company, but it seems that they don’t have the Oticon sort of open sound philosophy

It should be possible to identify the nearest equivalent Oticon for any given Philips HA. Oticon has a certain… enthusiasm in its marketing while Philips is more reserved, but that does not necessarily mean that the Philips-branded HAs are actually significantly different.

Regarding a no-obligation trial check the laws of the two jurisdictions you travel between. In some places a trial period is mandatory by law, the length and terms of which may vary.

@greg.smith: Of course it does! Do you think the audiologist is going to “eat” the cost of the trial? Of course not! A proportion of the cost will be added on to the price of every hearing aid that the audiologist subsequently sells.

Nothing is for free.

In reply to @SpudGunner

When a clinic offers a free trial, they are well aware that some trials result in a sale and some do not. The strategy on their part is to take the chance to make the sale. If the new really are impressive then they will make the sale.

Edited
@greg.smith said:

When a clinic offers a free trial, they are well aware that some trials result in a sale and some do not.

@greg.smith: Yes, precisely, but - do you not think that they factor this cost of trial into their overhead and unit pricing? I’d be very surprised if they didn’t!

I went to an audiologist before getting the Philips 9030s from Costco and tried the More 1. They were $6800 for the pair from that audiologist in the Washington DC metro area.

I’m happy with my Philips aids and the $5000 savings over the More 1. They may be better, but not $5000 better.

I’d consider checking with Costco to see if they know when the Philips 9040 will be released, and look to get into a pair of them.

When I was at Costco and decided to order the 9930s I tried the KS10 and didn’t like the sound. I much prefer the sound of the Philips aids, and ReSound (branded Jabra at Costco) over the KS10.

In reply to @jay_man2

“Blunt, rude, misguided with a narrow reading of the original post. Come on, Spud. No need to post if you can’t add anything of value.”

Why stop now???

In reply to @jay_man2

@jay_man2 said:

I’m happy with my Philips aids and the $5000 savings over the More 1. They may be better, but not $5000 better.

But I strongly believe the skill of the Hearing professional is what gives the best results. That is why I personally chose to move from Costco and try Duke University. I did not pay near $6800 for my More 1 aids though I paid less than $4000.

Edited

In reply to @greg.smith

@greg.smith: Rather than arguing - here’s what I believe: the manufacturers should provide trial units and financial incentives so that providing a “free” trial costs the audiolgy practice nothing.

But , from what I read in the Forum, this isn’t the case - the private practice bears the cost of labour for the trial. Audiologists’ time isn’t cheap, and trials take time, so I don’t imagine the cost to the practice is insignificant. If these costs are apportioned to overhead, then everyone pays except the guy who walks away from the free trial without paying.

I object to this as a matter of principle. I believe that the person who trials should have to pay the audiologist something to make him/her whole. (Addendum: Note that I say whole, and not rich - $400 a trial is too much!)

Therefore, I think it’s inequitable for anyone to automatically expect a “free trial” from a private practice with much smaller margins than Costco (unless the makers pony up and make that possible).

The last time I tried aids from an audiologist years ago they put me in a pair of demo aids and charged me $250. The fee was non-refundable but credited to the purchase of aids.

I don’t know who bears the cost of trial aids. My audiologist always offers and the aids are usually marked trial on them somewhere. I already pay enough for aids but common sense says it falls in the consumer’s lap. On the other hand I don’t know how I could possibly buy aids without a trial period. And yes my state requires a 30 day money back guarantee so I guess that’s can be considered a trial period. One thing I know. The manufacturer doesn’t bear the cost. That will never happen. And it’s probably not fair to assume the audiologist bears it either. So that leaves just one group. One last thing. Why the rude attacks on members for voicing their opinion. That gets old, real fast.

In reply to @greg.smith

Greg, perhaps I’ve missed something in my reading.

My understanding is that the Oticon philosophy is to leave ambient sounds in, but manage them in such a way that they don’t overpower sounds that the user wants to focus on. The claim is a more natural sound than what I have with the KS10, which blocks certain sounds.

Philips, on the other hand, supposedly offers more of a KS10/Phonak type of experience.

The way I’m reading your comment, you are telling me that the Philips philosophy actually more in line with Oticon than Phonak. Is this the case? If yes, I’ll try the Philips at Costco.

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