I have my own Philips aids purchased from Costco as well as several pairs of Oticons. The Dallas store had a fitter that had experience with interactions and experience with people with dementia. Unfortunately he got a promotion to a new store. His replacement wasn’t what I would describe as a free thinker.

I was trying to purchase an additional pair without her having a new hearing test. She had mobility issues and was living in an assisted living facility. When her strength diminished to the point where I had to lift her dead weight into a wheel chair, it became impossible to take her to Costco. The strength issue was as much due to her dementia as actual physical ability.

She suffered from mild dementia and of course the hearing aids slowed the progression. The last 4 or 5 months of her life she went without hearing aids. Over the years, Costco had replaced multiple aids, but I paid for more replacements than they provided.

The fact that they couldn’t bend the rules, and reorder the hearing aids and reprogram them to the previous settings just denied her the ability to visit with her friends where she lived since she had lost one aid from her last pair. I would not let her wear a single aid because the fall risk skyrockets with a single aid if there is bilateral hearing loss.

I recently purchased Philips 9050’s from the Baton Rouge Costco along with the TV adapter and remote mic. I was pleased with both the purchase and the service.

@MartinGale said:

would not let her wear a single aid because the fall risk skyrockets with a single aid if there is bilateral hearing loss.

Citations please. Theoretically it makes sense, but last I checked the actual research support was a bit thin.

PURDUE CLINICIAN: HEARING LOSS LEADS TO MORE FALLS FOR OLDER ADULTS

https://www.purdue.edu/hhs/news/2024/02/purdue-clinician-hearing-loss-leads-to-more-falls-for-older-adults/?TSPD_101_R0=08993c5290ab200057602f5d2c96c733dd6ec7e970f634f417b4d900888e383138d85e1038c6d94308530f80b314300066cb182a51a7044a74612d138ea833a6705f208900f2c628c9e970c5c4edeb3f0189a61222624d110d6244d11bad22303

Depending on the state laws, purchasing a new hearing aid without a hearing test can be against the law and open up the dispenser to enforcement action on their license.

Though in those circumstances, potentially borrowing a hearing aid or two… maybe even paying for them when they get lost.

Yes. We have options to get around that if a hearing test really cannot be done, but we at least TRY to do one and we still want to fit the hearing aids in person, make sure the ears are healthy and unoccluded, etc.

But we travel to those patients. Costco of course doesn’t do that. Also, travelling TO a patient is expensive even just for gas and car time, which is hard to swallow for Costco peeps who have been paying very little for services for a long time.

Costco peeps, save those savings for when you are into your twilight and have to pay a specialist to travel to you and dewax your ears. This is, it turns out, one of the biggest issues. Movement of wax in your ears will get slower and slower over time until it just builds up and the nurses and PSWs at the retirement community are seemingly unable to help. The struggle to try to teach PSWs basic hearing aid cleaning is also really, really disheartening, and you might have to pay someone to drive out to you just to clean your hearing aids, too.

@Neville said:

Movement of wax in your ears will get slower and slower over time until it just builds up

Is that true for most? Is it primarily dehydration?