Hearing Aids?

[Koolau]

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.

Heh, heh, I'm tempted to alter the old adage to: If you think hearing aids are expensive now, wait until they are free. BUT YMMV.

 

[Katsmeow]

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.

I do think there should be a limit but I find this one too rigid. I can imagine trying a hearing aid for some period of time, maybe taking it in for adjustment and trying various suggestions and then realizing it doesn't work. Maybe that takes a couple of weeks/months. But let's imagine someone who realizes within 1 week the hearing aid doesn't work. Takes it back to Costco and they suggest a different brand which in the store environment seems fine.

Gets home and realizes that the hearing aid just doesn't work well for tasks they do at home such as watching TV, listening to something on the computer, talking with one person, etc.

The next day they return the hearing aid to Costco. They have had in their possession 2 hearing aids and kept them a total of, say, 8 days. And they are now banned from Costco hearing aids forever? That seems really harsh to me.

Maybe they should give 6 months for the first one but less for the next one. Or maybe the ban lasts for 6 months or something. But, forever? Just seems harsh.

 

[troutnut1]

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



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.

I asked my Costco hearing aid specialist about this when I returned my aids in exchange for another brand. He says Costco has NO SUCH POLICY and he has been there for decades. He did say they are not forced to serve people who are obviously gaming the system, which seems fair to me. If my second brand doesn’t meet expectations I will be able to return them and buy another brand. I don’t expect to do that, but I could if I needed to.