Potential new hearing aid customer here. I’m trying to learn as much as I can, as this is all really new to me and I’m still wrapping my mind around the idea that at 43, I need some form of hearing assistance to get through many situations. I recently took the test on the Mimi IOS app and discovered a clear and pronounced cookie bite hearing loss. I didn’t want to believe it, so I had my 17 year old son take the same test, in the same room, with the same headphones, volume set the same, etc…and he aced it, no problem. Well he’s 17, so that doesn’t count. So I had my brother-in-law take it as well, who is 10 years my senior. He did fine. But his wife probably doesn’t yell at him as much as mine does, so that didn’t count either. So I had a good friend take it as well, and he also did fine. So maybe the app isn’t lying?
I quickly learned that hearing aids are EXPENSIVE and my health insurance isn’t great, so I purchased some AirPod pro’s and loaded my audiogram into them and started using transparency mode. This actually gives me at least a fair, noticable amount of improvement. The problem I get is with them set to the point where I can hear what the mumbling mask wearers in my office are saying, the people I can hear fine without help become SO LOUD and I have insane Spidey-sense with everything else that drives me crazy. I can tell you what the guy next to me is typing without looking. Why is the guy 5 desks away STILL eating those chips, isn’t he done yet? It’s maddening. But in a closed door meeting with no loud background noise, I’m able to particiate and hear everyone well enough that I’m not dropping out of the conversation, so that helps a lot.
I’m well aware that I need to see a professional of some sort, but that seems like such an expensive and selfish endavour this year, so I ask you all this: will actual hearing aids provide a significant, or at least noticable difference in my situation? I’m thinking I’d probably go through Costco, and I am aware of the trial period, etc., but I’d really like to hear (ha!) some experiences from you all before I make the time and financial investment of seeking professional help. Any chance there’s some cookie-biters here that have similar experiences? Thanks in advance, and apologies for he long winded first post.
I’m a 41 year old cookie biter here. I can’t speak to Costco but many people on the forum can. Having a cookie bite loss can be tricky to program and find a good fit. A lot depends on finding a good audiologist and patience with likely programming adjustments. Not all cookie bites are the same so I can only speak to mine and my experience. My bite is moderately-severe at 1000 Hz. Normal hearing at 250-500 and also 4000-8000. I cannot handle a closed fit hearing aid, so I wear open domes even if a closed fit could give me a better boost at my worst frequency.
Over the past year, I’ve trialed ReSound One, Phonak Marvel, Signia Styletto, Oticon OpnS, and Oticon More. I will be purchasing Oticon More because it’s given me the most comfortable listening experience.
thank you for sharing your experience! If I had $5k burning a hole in my pocket, I would go the audiologist route. I just can’t swing it this year. However, if the KS10’s or the Philips HA’s from Costco would help with the issues I have while not amplifying all the background noise, that I can do. Did you find the Oticon More’s to address your loss without over-amplifying everything else to an uncomfortable level?
Believe me, I get it! I don’t doubt that you can find a good fitter at a Costco, but I haven’t gone that route. I’d suggest looking at whatever Costco carries that’s comparable to Oticon OpnS or Oticon More. You can ask that question on the forum and I’m sure someone will chime in as to which hearing aid Costco carries that comparable. I don’t feel like it’s over amplified but there are certain sounds I’m sensitive to with or without amplification and I think those are in the frequencies I hear normally. Crinkling plastic, rustling papers, birds chipping - all of those sounds have the potential to seemingly overpower the mid frequencies that I hear the worst.
I would recommend looking into PSAPs or hearables… some of which are covered on this site. Obviously not as powerful as prescription hearing aids, but there are some good options out there that only cost a few hundred (rather than thousand) dollars.
I’m quite interested in the Olive Pro’s, but I’d really like to read a review on them before I order them and try for myself. I wish they’d get Dr. Cliff an advance pair. I can swing for the KS10 and maybe a bit more… I just want to know that the difference is worth me taking the time to go there, get a membership, take the test, do the fitting, etc.
Hello Adam
I put off getting hearing aids for a number of years and finally went to Costco 3 yrs ago and got Phonak Brio 3’s. I have, since then, told anyone willing to listen 
that it was the best investment I have ever made !
Last week I ordered the KS10’s from Costco because I wanted the Bluetooth capabilities and a couple of other new features.
My suggestion to you is get the 10’s and if you don’t find the improvement amazing you can return them - all you would be out is the cost of the membership
I am working with ZipHearing.com. I believe they represent an up-and-coming trend in the way H.A.'s are marketed. Unlike many other online sellers, Zip’s packages include the aids, setup, and several additional fitting and adjustment sessions after purchase. One possible snag is that you must go to one of the providers in their network. Depending upon where you live, you may have one or several choices. They are trying to vet these members as best they can, but they are unable to actually visit each one. I am still trying to find one of the limited selections available to me, who will provide Real Ear Measurements. (Search the forums or view some Dr. Cliff Olson videos on YouTube if you don’t know what that is). You can typically save a thousand dollars on your aids. You can find aids online for much less, but most of those vendors provide only a very basic setup (in spite of what they claim). Purchase and proper fitting of aids IS expensive. There really isn’t any good way to get around that just yet, but companies like Zip are basically saying, “we are selling you aids online, but are also including the complete package that gets you through purchase and professional fitting. We are not the cheapest, but we make some profit, and you don’t have to pay full retail.” It,s also worth noting that Zip is an AUTHORIZED seller of their brands, and therefore provide you with a factory guarantee and return period. Not al online vendors are authorized.
Ive used both Costco with a good audiologist and Ziphearing with a good practice in my neighborhood. I was pleased with both, but a bit more so with Zip as i got a higher end instrument. That said, Costco has a new model K-10 around $1400 for a pair that might be worth checking out. But I would only go where Costco had a good audiologist, not a lesser-trained hearing technology person.
Curious, what higher end aid are you talking about with Zip?
@castaway: I’m of the opinion that your enthusiasm for ZipHearing may be premature I’ll be genuinely interested in your opinion when the rubber actually meets the road, as it were.
Otherwise, what you’re touting is just hypothetical, IMO.
[BTW, I’m expressing my opinion just so a newbie doesn’t mistake your anticipatory enthusiasm for a “tried and true” endorsement of ZipHearing.]
Oticon Opn S1. The one from Costco was in the corporate family that builds Oticon but had fewer features. I had the Costco one before returning to oticon which I’ve otherwise used for 20-plus years.
I am simply describing my experience with them so far, and how their system works. I have also expressed my opinion of the potential limitations. I have spoken with Zip several times. They seem to be making an effort to develop a business model that gives the consumer a valid option for purchase and fitting. If I back out because I don’t like something about their process I will also report that. As I mentioned, I see one weak spot to be their network providers. These are the same brick-and-mortar Audi’s and providers that are already out there - good or bad. It is really up to you at this point to decide if you are satisfied with the fitter they send you to One of my personal requirements is to find a fitter who uses REM. I may have to drive an hour to meet that requirement. One would hope that in future, the fitters they accept into their system all meet a certain standard. Zip seems to be open to doing things like specifying which fitters in their system do REM and which don’t. These are business people not Audi’s. They seem to be learning as they go, and seem to value comments I have made. Time will tell
@adambullock, a lot of what you’re describing with the AirPods is typical of what first-time HA wearers experience: Sounds like crunching chips and rattling dishes and silverware sounding inappropriately loud. Your brain has to get used to hearing sounds it hasn’t heard for awhile. It gets better.
I’d say go to Costco and get an actual professional hearing exam and have your hearing loss accurately measured. Once you get actual HAs you can return for adjustments based on your experiences with the HAs. That’s the way the process usually works.
If you have experienced improved hearing with the AirPods you will almost certainly experience even more improvement with HAs. IMHO it is so life-enhancing to be able to maximize your hearing that it is worth it to cut back elsewhere to be able to pay for HAs.
@castaway: Fair enough … thanks for the courteous clarification of your post. I appreciate it.
[NOTA: I’ve edited my prior post to do some clarification of my own.]
Thanks for that. Everything you’re saying makes total sense. I think, were this year any different, I would probably go straight to a highly rated audiologist and not bother with Costco, but where lots of people had a difficult 2020, 2021 has just been a financial assault for my household. I won’t bore you with details, but I could have bought a really fun mid-life crisis car for less than we’ve spent to just keep the house in the same condition it was in last year. And nothing against Costco, but I would definitely go for top of the line models for even my first set of HA’s because I’m the kind of guy that’ll think he’s potentially missing out on something if I don’t.
Thank you to everyone weighing in with their input so far - it’s greatly appreciated.
You might of already read this, but here’s a nice article about Cookie Bite and Hearing Aids by Neal Bauman who is a prolific hearing loss author Cookie-Bite Hearing Loss and Hearing Aids
While I wear hearing aids, I also have AirPods Pro and I found that like hearing aids for me (non-standard hearing loss type), plugging in my audiogram does not help nearly as much as manually adjusting treble/bass to what sounds best to me through the headphones accommodation feature. I actually have my AirPods setup to emphasize Vocal Range.
I would also add that Costco aids are typically top tier technology with model name rebranding and some slight differences such as tinnitus feature removal.
My hearing loss started as “cookie-bite” when I first realized that I had hearing loss in my 40’s. After several years it’s more like a “reverse slope” shape. I initially went to an audiologist who was covered by my insurance at that time. She just looked at my audiogram from the ENT, showed me a brochure and color samples and recommended a third-tier aid that cost over $3000 per aid. She didn’t even let me try any of them. Then my FIL mentioned that Costco sells HAs at good price so I went there. I got an impression that my hearing aid dispenser is very good at what she does, and the initial testing at Costco was very comprehensive. She let me walk around Costco with two different set of aids. I decided to get one of them and never looked back. Earlier this year I got KS9 because I lost one of my old ones, and very happy with them. It was like a magic when she turned on KS9 - I doubted my eyes because I thought her mask disappeared (it didn’t, but I could hear that much better). As others have said their aids are the top tier, and initial hearing tests are free. So I would not write off Costco, give them a try.
If fantastic 
Veterans Affairs Canada didn’t send me to a private audiologist like a rock star, I think I would give CostCo a whirl.
thank you! Trying out the “Vocal Range” now to see how they work in the office. I also really appreciate the article… I’ve sent it to my oldest son and my wife to read, hoping they’ll understand my plight a little more.