Hearing Aids?

[Born2BRetd]

Another vote for Costco. We had a great experience there. No sales pressure at all. They give you a hearing test and then let you know what your options are but any follow up is up to you.

 

[Koolau]

I'm having a difficult time hearing TV conversations now. Talking heads are fine, but movies are the pits. It really irritates me that so many movies have music tracks playing underneath (over, I say) the dialog. What's up with that? My fear is that hearing aids would just make it all louder. I can do that now, just by turning up the sound.

5 or more years ago I "tried out" a hearing aid. I hated it. It DID make thing louder. I don't recall that I could "hear" better. I understand that there are aids that emphasize speech frequencies, but if they aren't "user" adjustable (for conditions) what good would they do for MY issues. I CAN hear. I can make TV louder. I can't reduce backgrounds - though, in theory, I guess the new technology claims to do that.

Oh well. I've got 2 or 3 health issues right now, so I'll wait a bit longer on the aids. But I KNOW I need to deal with them soon. YMMV

 

[REWahoo]

Koolau, see my post #2 above. No risk to try from Costco as you can return them within 180 days for a full refund if you don't like them. They are tuned to your specific hearing needs and are user adjustable to allow you to vary settings based on your conditions/preferences.

I have a similar problem with TV dialog and they definitely help.

 

[oscar1]

Big Fan Of Costco

Half the cost of same aids offered by independent Audiologists, better trial period with full refund, better warranty (3 years), better replacement policy (2 years), less sales focus (Costco Hearing Center personnel already get living wage). Many repairs can be done for free with on-site parts. The list goes on.

 

[FFC1964]

I'm having a difficult time hearing TV conversations now. Talking heads are fine, but movies are the pits. It really irritates me that so many movies have music tracks playing underneath (over, I say) the dialog. What's up with that? My fear is that hearing aids would just make it all louder. I can do that now, just by turning up the sound.

5 or more years ago I "tried out" a hearing aid. I hated it. It DID make thing louder. I don't recall that I could "hear" better. I understand that there are aids that emphasize speech frequencies, but if they aren't "user" adjustable (for conditions) what good would they do for MY issues. I CAN hear. I can make TV louder. I can't reduce backgrounds - though, in theory, I guess the new technology claims to do that.

Oh well. I've got 2 or 3 health issues right now, so I'll wait a bit longer on the aids. But I KNOW I need to deal with them soon. YMMV

My Phonak hearing aids have a TV setting which can increase clarity. it helps A LOT!

Good Luck!

 

[FREE866]

following

 

[oscar1]

Most reputable major brands (Phonak, Resound, Starkey, Rexton) have TV streamer devices. Puck with HDMI cable plugs into your TV. The puck does Bluetooth to your hearing aids. Device is specific to the hearing aid manufacturer and runs about $250. I use my iPhone to toggle between TV streamer and normal listening mode. I mute nearly all commercials. And even mute the wife periodically! ��

 

[calmloki]

My set of hearing aids linked to a phone call in the house while I was in the garage building. Perfect clarity, but weird as could be - the other person's voice seemed to be coming from inside my head, rather than from some point outside my left or right ear.

 

[nwsteve]

Bumping this tread with another Costco "Attaboy". Facemasks finally got one oy HAids. Had no success using the "find my HA" feature as battery of the loss was apparently on its last legs. HA was 21 mon old so was expecting to pay out of pocket to replaced. Called Costco to order replacement and much to my surprise learned our purchase included 36 mon loss/damage with -0- deduct insurance.
Went into store signed some paperwork and was told 1-2 weeks for replacement to arrive--it actually came in 5 days and got an appointed to pu for next day.
Not sure how anyone could do better--new HA for my model are nearly a $1000 ea!

 

[aja8888]

Didn't find the Costco hearing evaluation to be a "sales opportunity" at all. Much better than my visit to a stand alone audiologist's office.

Same here. When Costco evaluated my hearing loss, they said I need to see a specialist since they can't help me. They did not try to sell me anything.

 

[Katsmeow]

DH had a hearing evaluation with a private audiologist who wanted to sell him these extremely expensive hearing aids. We researched then and they are fine hearing aids.

But, he went to Costco and went through their process (very similar results) and they suggested a Jabra hearing aid which was several thousand dollars less. He tried the expensive brand in the office of the audiologist and walked around Costco with the one they suggested. He felt they were both fine, but liked the one at Costco slightly better not even considering price. He ordered them and gets them in a few weeks

Koolau, see my post #2 above. No risk to try from Costco as you can return them within 180 days for a full refund if you don't like them.

This is true, but you can allow do it one time if you plan to re-buy from Costco. DH specifically asked about this. He can return them within 180 days and get a full refund and then get something else from Costco. However -- if you return the 2nd pair -- he was told he could not thereafter buy hearing aids from Costco.

This bothers me a bit. That is, let's say he just doesn't like the pair he is getting next month and he returns them and gets something else. Let's say there is something seriously wrong with the new pair (not a warranty issue -- they are just bad). If he returns them (which he would want to do) then he is done with ever getting hearing aids from Costco. That is a really pretty heavy penalty. I understand them putting some limit on it but this seems pretty harsh since there can be many totally legit reasons for needing to repair a pair of hearing aids.

 

[Sunset]

I understand Costco's limit of 2 returns and you are done buying hearing aids from them. After all, it cost's Costco money to accept returned ones. They can't sell them to the next person.
With a 6 month try and return time frame, there are quite a few folks who would return their hearing aids after 5.5 months so they could buy the new version that just came out.
Some folks would return them just because you can get new ones.

People visiting Hawaii, will go to Costco, buy mask and flippers, swim for a week and then return them for a refund. People will abuse a return policy unless limits are put in place.

 

[Amethyst]

You have brought up a memory from my early years at work. A middle-aged secretary in one office where I worked, was a clothes horse. Everything matched, and she never wore the same outfit twice. She wasn't married. Naturally, the rest of us wondered how she afforded all these new clothes.

I forget who spilled the beans. The woman routinely bought outfits and returned them, easy to do back then. When stores in the area started tightening their return policies, we joked that she was personally responsible.

People visiting Hawaii, will go to Costco, buy mask and flippers, swim for a week and then return them for a refund. People will abuse a return policy unless limits are put in place.

 

[Koolau]

I keep reading that putting off hearing aids is a bad idea. Apparently, waiting too long blunts the potential good outcomes. I have on my "to do" list a Costco evaluation first of the year. Then, probably a BTD for both ears. I hate the idea of hearing aids, but if they work, I'll deal with it. YMMV

 

[ncbill]

So what are the newly approved much cheaper alternatives called again?

 

[OldShooter]

This is an industry that is in a disruption phase. It seems likely per the Biden discussions that hearing aids will be covered by Medicare, also from the FTC that they will be somewhat deregulated. Either/both of these will be bombs exploding in the P&L's of the companies that have been overcharging. If you need a hearing aid now, you need one, but waiting a year or two will expose a changed landscape IMO.

 

[1242Vintage]

My youngest daughter was born with a significant hearing loss. We figured that out when she was one. Back then (1990) basic hearing aids were $1k each, she needed two of them and insurance didn’t cover. Ouch!!!

Imagine hanging $2k worth of technology on a toddler. It was a battle. We went through many costly hearing aids. And 20+ years later I’m still finding those little tiny batteries around the house.

She’s now 23, is gainfully employed with her own health care … which covers those costly digital hearing aids … and is much more responsible.

 

[Time2]

I understand Costco's limit of 2 returns and you are done buying hearing aids from them. After all, it cost's Costco money to accept returned ones. They can't sell them to the next person.
With a 6 month try and return time frame, there are quite a few folks who would return their hearing aids after 5.5 months so they could buy the new version that just came out.
Some folks would return them just because you can get new ones.

People visiting Hawaii, will go to Costco, buy mask and flippers, swim for a week and then return them for a refund. People will abuse a return policy unless limits are put in place.

That's not just Hawaii, the snowbirds come to Florida and buy stuff for 3 months only to return them when they go home.

 

[Time2]

I keep reading that putting off hearing aids is a bad idea. Apparently, waiting too long blunts the potential good outcomes. I have on my "to do" list a Costco evaluation first of the year. Then, probably a BTD for both ears. I hate the idea of hearing aids, but if they work, I'll deal with it. YMMV

I'm with you, but if it works...

I had my hearing checked two plus years ago, audiologist said it would be a waste for me. Even though I was down 60db at 8kHz, I could still hear well enough at 4kHz, that it was not worth it.
This was a private company and I was surprised I didn't get the hard sell.
Interestingly, I can hear the guys just fine, harder to hear women and young kids it's much more difficult if not impossible. I'm sure they are in my future.

 

[Amethyst]

I didn't like it when the audiologist, a woman young enough to be my daughter, said, "Well, if you were an 80-year-old grandma sitting at home, you wouldn't even notice your hearing loss. But since you're still working..." Medical schools really need to offer courses in tact.

I asked for the 2-month trial, and ended up buying a set of aids which made a surprising difference in my ability to distinguish and understand speakers in a noisy group, with background noise, etc.

My hearing loss is in the speech frequencies, just like yours. There are lots of other sounds in that freq range - birdsong, complex music, sounds of the surf. While not necessary for daily living, they are fun to hear again!

I'm with you, but if it works...

I had my hearing checked two plus years ago, audiologist said it would be a waste for me. Even though I was down 60db at 8kHz, I could still hear well enough at 4kHz, that it was not worth it.
This was a private company and I was surprised I didn't get the hard sell.
Interestingly, I can hear the guys just fine, harder to hear women and young kids it's much more difficult if not impossible. I'm sure they are in my future.

 

[Time2]

I asked for the 2-month trial, and ended up buying a set of aids which made a surprising difference in my ability to distinguish and understand speakers in a noisy group, with background noise, etc.

That is a very important point, "a noisy group, with background noise". I was at dinner with a group and realized, I had just given up and wasn't even trying to understand, just to much effort for little payoff.

Recently I was helping my son in law rehab his home and realized every time he said something I ask him to repeat, maybe time for another hearing test.
Has anyone compared the Sam's hearing aids to Cosco hearing aids?

 

[Amethyst]

Even though not quite 80 and not yet a Grandma, I do spend most of my time at home these days. Am thinking of springing for new aids, now that they come with chargers.

I've noticed that customer service voices, which tend to be female and sing-song, are harder for me to understand these days, and more irritating than they used to be. That's not the voices' fault - that's my hearing.

 

[ERD50]

Even though not quite 80 and not yet a Grandma, I do spend most of my time at home these days. Am thinking of springing for new aids, now that they come with chargers.

I've noticed that customer service voices, which tend to be female and sing-song, are harder for me to understand these days, and more irritating than they used to be. That's not the voices' fault - that's my hearing.

But a company should take that into consideration, and have voices most easily understood by all. This type of high frequency hearing loss is pretty common.

But these same companies do the tiny print, with dark gray fancy text on a lighter gray background - it's probably hopeless.

-ERD50

 

[Amethyst]

Yep. I've noticed that people under 40 find it hilarious when one takes out one's reading glasses to look at the phone. We humans just don't "get" aging, until we actually do it.

But these same companies do the tiny print, with dark gray fancy text on a lighter gray background - it's probably hopeless.

-ERD50

 

[Walt34]

I've noticed that customer service voices, which tend to be female and sing-song, are harder for me to understand these days, and more irritating than they used to be. That's not the voices' fault - that's my hearing.

But a company should take that into consideration, and have voices most easily understood by all. This type of high frequency hearing loss is pretty common.
-ERD50

The especially devious and hateful ones throw in a heavy foreign accent that is barely understandable when the person is three feet away from you.