Costco aids usually run a generation behind the manufacturer’s latest aids. Perhaps the introduction of Costco’s Brio 3 signals that Phonak is about to come out with a new aid or a new platform soon.
Costco aids do not have tinnitus masking features, but if you have one of their made for iphone hearing aids, it’s a pretty simple hack to stream whatever sounds you want from your phone. Hope masking is helpful for you. I haven’t heard any “Wow” responses to masking though.
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I think Costco is no longer satisfied being a generation behind. The Phonak Beyond/B platform (<- I think I got that right) was just late summer of last year. That seems too early for another Phonak platform.
Costco and VA move large volumes of hearing aids;
http://www.hearingreview.com/2017/01/us-hearing-aid-unit-sales-increased-8-7-2016/
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The previous generation aid seems to largely be a Costco myth as aids from Bernafon and Resound are current generation. It does hold for the Phonaks though and their “new” generation has been out for sometime–the Audeo B Direct. Although it shares the Audeo B name, the Direct is a new chip (called Sword)
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Does anyone know if Costco will soon start selling a Phonak product with bluetooth capability that does not require an external device?
I don’t “know” but I think it’s a pretty safe bet they will not. The Phonak Costco aid that just came out was first released by Phonak in June 2016, about 20 months ago. Phonak’s only direct Bluetooth aid, the Audeo B Direct was just released in August of 2017. I’d be surprised if something similar to the Audeo B Direct were available at Costco before June 2019.
I asked my local Costco about a Phonak bluetooth enabled hearing aid recently, and they said, “it’s coming!” I like buying from them, but the Resounds were not good for me and the others don’t seem to be a good fit.
I would certainly think Costco staff would know more than me, but it would still surprise me for them to start selling their “latest and greatest” through Costco.
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I got my OPN 1’s yesterday and I’ve changed my mind. I would not use Tinnitus Masking as part of my criteria for choosing HA.
I mistakenly thought that the masking would be going on in background all the time and give me some continuous relief. It’s more a program that you can run a couple of hours a day to do retraining.
So far though, I love these hearing aids. The Connectclip is working great for listening to audio books and phone calls. I even tested the remote mic with my wife upstairs and me downstairs and could hear her fine.
Mike
that’s a typical non-answer answer.
Does this mean that Costco sometimes has a promotion where they offer a free device with purchase of HA’s? I’m assuming the “device” might be a ComPilot?
I’m probably gonna order the Brio 3’s very soon. I’ve had the Brio 2’s for almost four years. (I’m surprised Costco/Phonak has gone that long between new models.)
I don’t understand the pattern, but yes, sometimes Costco offers a “free” device with their non Kirkland hearing aids. In the past it was often a streaming device or charging device (with the streamer being the much better deal) If I had to guess, I’d guess they’d do it after a model has been out for awhile, but it’s just a guess.
so these are what were recommended for me when I went for the hearing test. I will be getting them on Thursday. Good fit or no for my hearing loss?
Just about any RIC would be a good fit. The important thing is how you like them.
So If you need a device, it won’t be Phonak B Direct.
I have trialed the Resound Forte 8 and decided they weren’t right for me. I called Costco today saying I was bringing them back and was told about the Kirkland 8. With so many from Costco now having direct to Phone capabilities, it will be surprising if the Phonak requires an intermediary device. I didn’t think that was important until I was in New York recently and had a friend in crisis back home calling me often. I could hear them on a busy street corner. Also, driving and having the GPS directions going directly to my aids was very helpful.
I’m hoping the Phonak will have “Direct” but I doubt it.
Phonak Audéo V90.pdf <-VS-> Phonak Audéo B90.pdf
| Phonak Brio 2 | Phonak Brio 3 | |
|---|---|---|
| AutoSense OS: | ||
| Calm Situation | Yes | Yes |
| Speech in Noise | Yes | Yes |
| Comfort in Noise | Yes | Yes |
| Music | Yes | Yes |
| Speech in Loud Noise | Yes | Yes |
| Speech in Car | Yes | Yes |
| Comfort in Echo | Yes | Yes |
| Additional programs: | ||
| Max. additional programs | 5 | 5 |
| Speech in Wind | Yes | Yes |
| Comfort in Echo | Yes | Yes |
| Speech in Loud Noise | Yes | Yes |
| Speech in 360° | Yes | Yes |
| Speech in Noise | Yes | Yes |
| Calm Situation | Yes | Yes |
| Comfort in Noise | Yes | Yes |
| Music | Yes | Yes |
| Acoustic phone | Yes | Yes |
| Custom program | Yes | Yes |
| Streaming programs: | ||
| Max. streaming programs | 4 | 4 |
| Bluetooth audio + mic | Yes | Yes |
| Bluetooth phone / DECT + mic | Yes | Yes |
| RemoteMic / Roger | Yes | Yes |
| Audio jack | Yes | Yes |
| Features: | ||
| UltraZoom | Yes | Yes |
| SNR-Boost | Yes | Yes |
| FlexControl | Yes | Yes |
| FlexVolume | Yes | Yes |
| DuoPhone | Yes | Yes |
| SoundRecover | Yes | SoundRecover 2 |
| User Preference Tuning | Yes | Yes |
| Real Ear Sound | Yes | Yes |
| Finetuning Channels | 20 | 20 |
| WhistleBlock | Yes | Yes |
| NoiseBlock | Yes | Yes |
| WindBlock | Yes | Yes |
| EchoBlock | Yes | Yes |
| SoundRelax | Yes | Yes |
| QuickSync | Yes | Yes |
| AOV | Yes | Yes |
| auto Acclimatization | Yes | Yes |
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PVC just did the same kind of report for the KS8. It showed renamed features. This one doesn’t. So, is this a worse product than the “enhanced” KS8?
No way to really tell from this. It looks like the KS8 is more improved.
Yet, the Beyond has an improved processor and that allows more code to work in real time. So, it is a better/improved product but the specs above don’t tell that story.
So how do you tell? Stick it in your ear. 
Brio 3 has Sound Recover 2 which the Brio 2 does not (except in ultra power version) Sound Recover 2 uses dynamic frequency lowering whereas Brio 2 is static.
Thanks I saw that but then lost it during the mechanics of producing the table with copy/paste. I fixed it.
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This stuff is tough to decipher. I don’t see much difference between the old Phonak Audéo V models and the new Phonak Audéo B models. Except, they added a rechargable model, WhoopDeeDo! Oh, and a SoundRecover2 tweak.
But wait, there is the new Phonak Audéo B-Direct and that is new. It has the new SWORD chip and offers direct connectivity to cellphones (iPhone and Android). Though I believe the new SWORD chip resides in just this one model, the Audéo B-Direct.
What this looks like to me (except for the rechargeable model and SoundRecover tweak) is that the other Phonak Audéo models (B90, B70, B50, B30) just got a name change from Audéo V to Audéo B. I don’t see any other changes. Thus the Phonak Brio 3 hasn’t changed from the Phonak Brio 2, except for the SoundRecover2 tweak.
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