So I was playing around and I clicked on the Phonak version of what I have, the Costco Phonak Brio 3. The Phonak version is the Phonak Audeo B90 312T. I noticed that the list of features seemed very different but when I looked closer it looks like the features match up 1 to 1, but with different names. One feature, tinnitus masking, is not included. I wonder if they do that so their rep can say to the independents, oh no, the Costco version doesn’t even have autosense, and then tell the Costco shop that oh yeah, yours is identical, just different names.
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I believe none of the Costco aids have Tinnitus settings. The ones I tried were useless anyway.
In the US, only a degreed Audiologist can use the Tinnitus settings.
i believe that for consistency sand to lower the price of the aids, Costco decided it was a better overall experience to not offer the feature and pass the savings on to the customer
I think you’ve got it right that they use semantics to keep their non Costco clients happy. There might be some minor differences. Have you gone in and looked at features that have multiple settings and see if there are as many options in the Costco version? That is one thing I noticed with my Rexton made KS7s is that they didn’t have near as many setting levels as does the similar Signia model. Say noise reduction–the Signia might have 7 levels, mine 3.
I can’t say I disagree with their doing so either. If something isn’t scientifically proven to work and can be made to be a somewhat cheaper product to not have it then sure…why include it?
I also think it’s been mentioned elsewhere that if an HA does have it that Costco wouldn’t enable it.
A more cynical opinion would be that Costco does not want any patients that might take up more time than usual, like tinnitus patients or profound patients.
They didn’t turn me away years ago or recently either.
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Phonak Brio 3 information
I could not quickly find the Phonak Audeo B90 here.
EDIT Is this it?
Brio 3 R (all variations) are like Audeo B 90, Regarding the two BTEs: My best guess is that the 13 sized one is a Bolero B90 and the 675 is a Naida B90.
I would think their Brio 3 with 675 battery could handle pretty profound losses. I think their overall philosophy as a store is to carry stuff that fits most people’s needs. They do not carry a wide variety of electronics or appliances (cellphones perhaps being an exception)
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I certainly wouldn’t expect them to turn people away. But for corner audiogram losses, they do not carry FM systems. I would expect that this is an overhead decision to avoid treating people who take up more time. No tinnitus, no profound, no central auditory processing, no pediatrics.
Although maybe this is an American thing, where the providers literally cannot engage with these populations, as opposed to in Canada where Costco is largely staffed by audiologists.
IMHO, the tinnitus masking feature of Phonak aids is useless. I turned it on to see what it did and found that constant hiss even more bothersome than my tinnitus, which I have long since gotten used to. Perhaps if they could have it play some music at a low level constantly, it might distract from the tinnitus sound. I don’t think hearing aid companies have ever found an effective way to deal with tinnitus.
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They don’t provide audiology services, just hearing aids and accessories, just like many other dealers. They do have many power and up models for profound losses.
In the US, testing for & fitting hearing aids are considered audiology services. Only certified professionals can legally do that.
Don,
I don’t have an issue with tinnitus. But an audiologist near me told me:
Whenever he adjusts hearing aids without built-in tinnitus-masking he uses a smartphone app called “function-generator” during the feedback-test and holds the phone near to the tested hearing aid. The app produces a sinus wave form at a frequency that matches the tinnitus best.
The result is that the HA does no amplification at that specific frequency/ies.
Some customers do beneift, others don’t.
I promised to sort of review my Brio 3R HAs after a few months. It is time. As you read this, please remember that i am REQUESTING comments AND that my hearing loss is “moderate” and not severe, by testing - not my opinion.
I am hoping that one or more of YOU folks can tell me if my expectations are too high as has been suggested to me by several people including my Audiologist (who does NOT work at Costco).
A very long story that I may already have told here, i was “forced” to buy the TV Connector along with the HAs. It is a MIXED blessing. YES, it is a small investment (only $99), BUT …
The APP that Phonak offers is extremely limited in function. When it comes to the TV Connector, it offers two controls. ONE is a VOLUME control that can be split into Right and Left. Problem is I HAVE ZERO idea what volume it controls. It does NOT appear to do ANYTHING. EVEN when MUTED, I can’t tell the difference. The other control is a slider that varies the balance between sound directly from the TV and ambient sound.
I need to keep the slider FAR to the left, maybe 2-3 “notches” from the far left edge. The left side is supposed to be AMBIENT sound. Move the slider to the right and VERY ABRUPTLY just past the 3rd “notch” you get 100% TV Connector.
I have written to the Phonak APP people and begged them to address this issue; to make the adjustments finer. They say they are working on it.
IF little or no AMBIENT sound in the mix, I cannot hear my wife over the sound from the TV.
Second issue with the TV Connector - it can be set at Costco for “AUTOMATIC” or “MANUAL” connection. When in MANUAL, you must reselect the TV Connector program every time it disconnects. The TV Connector disconnects after approximately 15-20 seconds of TV silence. FOR EXAMPLE, if you PAUSE the TV for 15-20 seconds, it disconnects. Reconnection is either by APP or by 3 long presses of the on board button. I find myself needing to reconnect OFTEN. A PIA and, I;m sure, wearing out the on board button.
In the AUTOMATIC mode, the way I started, everytime the TV is turned on the TV connector automatically switches the HAs to TV Connector program. I was in my den, on the telephone, when my wife came downstairs and turned the TV on. All of a sudden, I had the TV in my ears and couldn’t hear the person on the phone! The TV Connector has amazing BlueTooth range. When i am pulling up in my driveway, the TV Connector switches on the Program and I have the TV in my ears REGARDLESS of what I am listening to!
NOT GOOD either way!
Sound Quality of the Brio 3R - I find the sound quality to be MUCH better for my ears than the Resound I tried immediately before these, the 2018 Costco Resound model. That said, and after 3 or 4 adjustments, I still have trouble understanding speech on the TV and in movies and MUST, when available, rely on captioning, OR I must still turn the TV volume UP beyond a level of comfort for my wife (whose hearing tests as “normal”). IF I do turn up the ambient volume on the HAs, I get a ringing type of feedback too often. I will try another adjustment to address this.
AM I EXPECTING TOO MUCH from Hearing Aids?
My audiologist, who practices in my HMO (Kaiser-Permanente) tells me that even if I spent more for whatever models she sells, I would NOT experience better results than what I am getting from the Brio 3R.
IF TRUE, that is depressing. IF TRUE, the ONLY real benefit I am getting from hearing aids is that I can AGAIN enjoy music!
What I’m hearing is that your big issue is with TV. I don’t think there is any great solution for ANYBODY as far as trying to hold a conversation while watching TV. The solution is to get the person’s attention, pause the TV and talk. Then resume TV. I’d suggest using the streamer (I assume you can hear TV better through it than just through the hearing aids. I’d set it to eliminate ambient sound and do as suggestted above. Without ambient sound, it will be easier to hear the TV. I’d also set it to manual, but I’d have your hearing aid fitter put the TV program in a position that requires just one push. I’d also ask if there are any settings that can lengthen the time until it disconnects. I haven’t looked at the software, but I would think that should be possible.
So, rereading your post: the hearing aids don’t help any in conversation with others? TV through the streamer isn’t easier to understand? To me it sounds like you have a minor glitch with TV that is improvable whereas your overall tone is that they are a complete failure. I would agree that paying more for a hearing aid isn’t likely to solve the problem. There might be other aids that have a somewhat better TV streaming setup, but the problems you’re dealing with seem pretty standard. If TV is the only issue and you hear conversations just fine, you could go with some sort of TV streaming to headset setup like TV ears and skip the hearing aids. You’ll still need to stop TV to have a conversation.
Hey MDB,
That was an AWESOME response that I VERY MUCH appreciate.
I am going to implement your suggestions ASAP.
Ironically, I think the Brio 2 HAs that I had before were better. I got rid of them, long story told before, because they failed after 15 months. I got tired of sending them for repairs and being without or with strange loaners for 10 days or so at a time! Times 4!