Just ask your Costco fitter for a detailed report on your fittings. ReSound’s Smart Fit software can print out the complete details the same as an HCP would see using the fitting software. It can be printed to paper or to PDF. There was one forum member a while back with Quattros who didn’t do DIY but he used the reports provided by his audiologist to just run the Smart Fit software and examine the possibilities for settings compared to what his HCP actually set his at - then he would ask for advice on the forum about individual settings. Presumably, a good HCP would actually include some notes on different fitting sessions within the database records for an individual and those would be available in the complete report - more useful than a 2nd opinion person just trying to deduce the reason for settings from the raw data shown by the software.
I think a mountain is being out of a molehill with this topic. The idea of buying Costco HA’s and going to another audiologist is not going to be an earth-shaking consideration for MOST people. Hard to find statistics on what % of the U.S. population lives within, say, 50 miles of a Costco. There are something like 572 Costco’s in the U.S. There are only ~65 nuclear power plant sites currently running. Something like 65% of the population lives with 50 miles of a nuclear power plant. Want to bet how many people in the U.S. live within 50 miles of a Costco? So considering the other distances folks drive for various reasons, an occasional 50 mile drive to Costco to get your HA’s serviced for free under warranty vs. going somewhere closer and paying more for the additional service is not the life-rending problem it’s cut out to be for the great majority of the U.S. population.
It seems it’s agreed if you want warranty service on your Costco HA’s, you’re not going to get it at your non-Costco audiologist. But fitting adjustments and 2nd opinions from non-Costco HCP’s is a big thing (because we all know the service at Costco is so bad -> sarcasm). In my experience, which is limited, you usually quickly find a fit that works well and it’s the HA’s themselves that break down. Maybe a non-Costco HCP could replace a receiver or a wire or a dome - I have no idea how customized those are for Costco HA’s but you’re certainly not going to get the HA body refurbished or replaced through a non-Costco HCP, and that’s where all of my HA repair problems have been-with the HA body.
And if you’re into DIY, that’s a whole different matter. But that’s not the point of the thread. Yes, for DIY, you’d certainly want to buy unlocked HA’s and Costco would give you a good price. But you’d be throwing away all the Costco expertise and REM adjustment. The general opinion on the forum is that you’re not getting the best possible fit unless REM is performed and you can’t do it yourself at home.
So, yes, if you’re in the minority of the U.S. population and live really far from a Costco but want to travel 200 miles to get an inexpensive but top-notch HA there and never go back again, do buy an unlocked HA from Costco and try to get warranty service out of a non-Costco HCP and see what a great strategy that was all along. And if you’re into DIY, by all means forgo REM and the best fit possible and pat yourself on the back for doing that.
Sometimes being close to a full-service HCP provider who can do any needed warranty service and perform REM as needed is the most important consideration, even if it means paying a higher price for your HA’s (you can get a considerable discount through an online service like TruHearing, still nothing like Costco pricing…) and, hopefully, the OTC revolution is (still) just a year or two away. That should reduce prices on quality HA’s and hopefully quite a few non-Costco HCPs (and maybe even Costco, Walmart, etc., as well), will provide fitting and warranty service on OTC brands they sell for HA fitting problems that confound some users - just like Best Buy has the Geek Squad, a successful retailing strategy for a major OTC brand would hopefully involve HCP backup and hopefully being able to get a good OTC HA, do the basic adjustments yourself and go to a nearby HCP or nationwide retailer for special service, REM, or warranty replacements might be a successful marketing strategy and bring good, inexpensive HA’s closer to everyone than their nearest Costco.
It should also be noted that remote adjustments for HA’s are also available (and free) from Costco. I know in my Jabra app I can request added programs and such and the fitter can do them from the HA center. Also can do “live” adjustments remotely with an appointment. So unless there is a problem there is no real need to go in person. I am a bit over an hour from Costco, and if I needed something quickly I could just do remote.
Thanks for adding that point. I was just about to do so myself as an afterthought.
It would be great for any folks far away from an HCP, Costco or otherwise, if a broken wire or a defective receiver were diagnosed, if at least those could be mailed to a user and the user could replace those themselves and then go through remote assistance to make sure things were working properly. Maybe if HA providers got daring, replacement bodies could even be shipped with the understanding that sooner or later the customer might want to see an HCP qualified to perform warranty service to have REM done when advisable. Broken parts could be returned to the HCP or OEM to document the need for warranty service (as my audi tells me ReSound footed the bill in the end for any warranty service she provided).
Something else prospective DIYers may want to consider with regard to both Phonak Paradise and Costco KS-10 models. With Target 7.1 or greater software, you can perform your own insitu hearing test using only the HAs themselves and the AudiogramDirect feature of the software. It’s fully automatic and - in my case at least - actually produced a better result than the settings the Costco HIS came up with after my in-person test. Not dramatically better, mind you, but still noticeable.
I did save the original Costco settings before running AudiogramDirect in case something went horribly wrong and I had to revert, but it worked out fine and I decided to use the settings the software generated.
This feature has been around I think before version Target 5.0. I’ve been using it since 2011.
Phonak’s iPFG software before Target has AudiogramDirect as well. I believe it was 1999 when I started self programming. Huge benefits for those who do.
Got 'em. Thanks! (and now for 20 characters. Still learning how to navigate the forum.)
Good to know! …
Yes, ReSound has in situ audiometry, too, by which you can effectively measure the softest sound that you can hear at each test frequency and also test whether each HA is capable of producing an “Uncomfortably Loud” sound - showing the output is still capable of approaching the MPO for that frequency. However, AFAIK, the in situ audiometry does not allow you to evaluate the correctness of your HA receiver output at the moderately loud level of sound - 65 dB - normally considered the level of total output relevant to speech understanding in normal conversation. According to the following, proper REM is typically performed to see if the HA receivers are capable of delivering that moderately loud output with the applied gain settings at (each?) test frequency. Basically, in situ audiometry is a test of the lowest possible output you can discern. It doesn’t test how your HA’s are performing at higher degrees of amplification at each frequency. You have to assume if the level of output you can just hear at each frequency matches a recent HCP audiogram done with calibrated instruments that all added gain at each desired frequency is working correctly with your instruments - which may or may not be a reasonable assumption: How do you know if your receiver is not working well?
A Beginners Guide to Real Ear Measures (REM) (interacoustics.com)
Edit_Update: and from the main Hearing Tracker site with reference to a Dr. Cliff YouTube video: Real-Ear Measurements (REMs) (hearingtracker.com)