Costco Hearing Aid Center Review | Secret Shopping Kirkland Signature 10.0

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#21

I agree - if you wear glasses, you can be tested at Clinic A and have glasses made up at Dispensary B. But the HA industry (clinics and manufacturers) seems to be making money hand over fist, and from people who have limited options and in some cases limited means. This is why Costco has truly disrupted the market by using their financial muscle to create products regular people can afford (…and become Costco shoppers…).

How do Audiology Clinics compete? Levels of care? Range of devices? Bundles? This is already part of the offer, so the indy clinic sector needs to innovate if they want to stay in business…

#22

It doesn’t look like his assistant even needs hearing aids.

I give my COSTCO hearing aid experience an A+

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#23

Without being unduly cynical here, Dr Cliff’s secret shopper ‘expose’ has certainly generated traffic for his channel. Whilst I am actually convinced he wants to ensure people make informed choices, this hasn’t exactly hurt the profile of his channel…

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#24

This is my plan. I receive annual comprehensive hearing exams for a $30 copay. I have my current one and plan to present it to Costco on Tuesday after my exam there. Hopefully, they will take it into consideration when making a recommendation.

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#25

If your experience is anything like mine with Costco, they will want to do add some tests (either fillin some frequencies on your audiogram, add masking, etc.)

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#26

This is a much better approach. Pay for your hearing test. Get HAs elsewhere. Frees up the audiologists from being car salesmen. You can then ask for guidance on features to shop for etc.

That’s sort of feasible here in the UK. Tested at one chain, take your audiogram to an online retailer, get some top quality HAs with a big reduction since they work out of an industrial estate rather than a shop. But the chain audiologists are somewhat keen to have your custom and turning up for the free test and consult isn’t exactly great for them, even if they’re not on commission…

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#27

In my case, my audiologist is associated with my healthcare provider not a stand alone hearing aid retailer.

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#28

I’ve had hearing aids before. My Costco KS9 test/fitting was ok but hearing was not the best.

I went to a different Costco provider when I was in another state. I asked them to retest and reprogram. They said they had rarely worked with KS9s (this is 6 months ago). They did a terrible job programing them.

When I got back home, I went to a 3rd Costco. I asked them to completely retest and reprogram. They did retest but then just put the first programming back on and did some tweaks. They did not do a real ear test.

This is where they stand now. My programing is good, but really bad in noisy environments. I suspect the costco specialists generally are not that good at doing this.

BUT neither were my non-costco providers, for a lot more money!

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#29

And this is exactly why I’ve been warning audiologists for years … To either improve standard of care, or die … There is simply too much disruption to be lazy and provide sub standard care. The value just won’t be there for consumers.

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#30

In most Western countries, as far as I am aware, the physician who prescribes the medication does not also sell it to you (in some Asian countries they do). Why not divorce the hearing test from the supply of the aids?

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#31

It actually used to be that way…

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#32

I don’t see your comment. My first comment disappeared too, but a subsequent one showed up. I’ve had similar experiences with leaving comments on other YouTube channels.

#33

As a long-time Oticon user, I’m among those who had a great experience at Costco. The primary reason was the audiologist (not hearing technician) was thorough and quite understanding, asking questions I considered very appropriate about scoping out my needs. The testing was likewise thorough, as was the follow-up to fine tune my off-brand Oticon aids (Bernaphon). The price was fine, and I fully understood I was getting a second tier product. It served me well, and I was pleased with the warranty Costco offered.

I did not go back for the most recent ones (Oticon OPN S1) as I wanted to get back on the cusp of available technology. I did business with a local audiologist I selected after doing a good bit of searching around following the retirement of my previous audiologist. Coincidently, they did business with Zipphearing.com which knocked down the post insurance out-of-pocket, which was a major plus. I will return to this audiologist again for another dose of Oticon via Zip next year when I get one more shot at the $2500 from my insurance (grandfathered to one more 3-year payment before going to a 5-year schedule.)

I was extremely satisfied with the service, the product and the price/value from Costco. I love beating the “system” with insurance contributions to the cost, but I am fortunate not to be all that concerned about the cost and want to stay out front in the technology race. If cost were an overriding factor, no question that I would go to Costco, at least to the audiologist at the one near me. She’s good and appears to have built a loyal following.

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#34

I’ve only had my KS10’s for 1 week now, but my testing and fitting experience was very good at my local Costco. The fitter has been working at this location for over 10 years, and she’s really quite good. I have my first follow-up in a week.

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#35

I thought it may have been a youtube AI algorithm that was deleting my comment for some reason, but I posted the SAME comment on a video of mine and it has not been flagged/removed so I think there must be human intervention… I’ve never been censored before, Sad really…

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#36

I guess it depends where you go. I got a hearing test at a nearby university medical center. The medical center has a policy (at least for me) of accepting the Medicare coverage and my supplementary Blue Cross/Blue Shield and not charging co-pay - so my hearing test was “free” to me (I pay several times the standard Medicare deduction from Social Security each month and need next to no medical care, so I’m doing more than average to support the system). I took the hearing test to the audiologist recommended by TruHearing and since it was done within weeks by the university audiologist a week after my ears were cleaned (also completely covered by insurance), the 2nd audiologist had no trouble using my hearing test. And I picked out the hearing aids that I wanted from TruHearing before I visited the second audiologist, discussed acquiring them with her (to make sure they’d work for me) and she told me that she could fit any HA’s that I wanted to buy.

BTW. a hearing exam is a medical record so an HCP cannot deny you the results of your hearing exam if you request test results- it’s probably a state law in most states - so there is nothing to prevent you from taking the results of your hearing test and going elsewhere - you just might not be able to get a free hearing test at the same place again if you keep that up!

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#37

What also matters is that the Costco audiologists will all follow a company-established set of guidelines, whereas an audiologist will do whatever s/he wants.

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#38

Unless the care is truly outstanding, going to one doesn’t justify the markup.

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#39

As a preface, I’m for as much choice and competition as possible, including OTC HA’s. But I think your remark is a little too general on Costco vs. non-Costco HCP’s. For example, there have been reports on the forum of HCP’s at Costco strongly emphasizing one Costco brand over the other-doesn’t sound like following Costco company policy. And quite a few HCP’s might work for “Hearing Care Centers,” which undoubtedly have company policy that tries to make the level of service uniform and what’s professionally expected. I think all customers need to be informed consumers, too. If one is making a purchase of more than a few hundred dollars at the very least, one has an obligation to oneself to thoroughly research the matter - that’s how I found this forum in the first place and Dr. Cliff’s YouTube site. I had both a TruHearing contract and a contract with my audiologist that detailed their obligations to me, etc., before I signed on the dotted line and paid a cent.

An analogy to what’s going on might be to think of the full-service audiologist as a “concierge specialist.” One of my cousins is a physician. He used to work 12-hour shifts in an emergency room operation but he wore out. He decided to go into concierge medicine. Each of his clients pays him a stiff yearly retainer - so it’s just like premium hearing aid service in a way. That enables him to limit his practice and each of his patients has basically 24x7 access to him for advice and care (I don’t know the exact details so I may be exaggerating here). So at the very least, I think there will always be a place in the world for premium service audiologists and ENT doctors in a similar role that perhaps only the very well-off or very well-insured or the very severely handicapped individuals can afford or need to go with. Both individuals and companies can have good business practices and high moral values or the opposite. And the best way to avoid the opposite is due diligence and vigilance as a consumer, IMHO. Companies and individuals can change and drift wtih time and so can individuals within a company - it’s happened within a well-known HA OEM in the relatively distant past…

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#40

I have no favorites or axes to grind here - too new!
But, my experiences with local audiologists was less than stellar, not bad mind you, just…nondescript.
My background is such that I firmly believe in top notch customer service - I built my practice on that foundation - never advertised one time built on referrals alone (several 4 generation families as well!). This were drilled into me during my college job - we were the most expensive camera shop in town and had to give people a reason to come in. Sadly, customer service is a dying business model.
My experience with the local University Med Center was also lackluster. Undubtedly strong on competance but sorely lacking in empathy…

Now my point is, Costco (which I have yet to visit but am scheduled) actually has “Customer Service” built into their service model. Sure, there are employees who missed the memo, but overall, Costco wants your business. HA, TV’s, or chicken wings are no different to them either- product is product. Those employees have a boss who understands old school business, I think many audiologists (not all!) are products of a generation several times removed from me.
Just my 2 cents.

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