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So we should buy our hearing aids at Costco and then pay $700 to get them fine tuned by someone who can spend 70 minutes fine tuning the hearing aid.
I wonder if there are folks out there with a business model like that.
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My audiologist is an instructor of audiology at a first tier teaching hospital in NYC. She charges $200 (no insurance) for a one hour consultation based on your audiogram conducted in a medical setting. Their basic business model is interesting and designed to eliminate bias toward one manufacturer or another. All devices are priced based on their tech level. All models with the same tech level are the same price. The audiologist is essentially brand agnostic.
If you buy the aids from her the price is market rate with two years of after care. Fittings are scheduled to take one hour. REM is included.
However when I showed her the price I could get privately for the Phonak Infinio she didnāt try to dissuade me. She suggested that I buy them and let the vendor program them initially based on her audiogram and perhaps some remote tweaking. If that programming worked for me , great.
If not, I could come back to her with the āoutsideā devices and pay $1000 for a year of in person programming.
Iām waiting for the vendor programmed aids to arrive but if I decide to go back to her Iāve still saved over $1000 with no pressure from her.
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I think a key distinction to make here is time spent programming versus time allotted for a fitting appointment. It seems like he accounts for time, as he should, for patient education. As far as objective measurements, thirty minutes is fairly common, but add to that counseling, reviewing cleaning, Bluetooth (including downloading apps, pairingā¦), and manufacturer warranties just to start, and an hour-long appointment becomes quite necessary.
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The audiology department of a local hospital/health organization will perform REM with three follow-up visits to fit instruments they did not sell for $800
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Thatās less expensive than it may sound. That bumps the Costco price up to $2,300. Higher end Brand name HAs tend to cost a lot more than that.
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May I ask which hospital? Iām also in NYC. I may be looking for someone to adjust my hearing aids.
Backstory: Iām lucky that I could get hearing aids through my union at a steep discount. They were fitted by a proper audiologist, including real ear measurements. The upside is saving a whole lot of money; the downside however is not getting a lot of attention or follow up with the audiologist (thereās one serving the hearing needs of 150,000 members). She did the fitting and sent me on my way. Do I get any follow up? Call me if you have a problem. The hearing aids seem to work well enough, but these are my first, so I wonder, is it as good as it could be? Iām thinking I might want a āsecond opinionā to see if a more thorough fitting would make them any better. Iād be willing to pay out of pocket (but $1000 is pretty steep, though).
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Iām just a day in to wearing Phonak non-Sphere Infinios that were programmed by the vendor to my audiogram, probably to some Phonak āfirst fitā profile. Itās pretty good and Iām debating whether or not I should pay $1000 for what will basically be REM verification. There are a couple of places in NYC that promote REM and I think they might test my programming āa la carteā but it really has to be more like a couple of hundred dollars than $800 to tempt me.
The audiologist I went to for consultation ($200) was at one of Weill Cornell Medicineās three Manhattan locations. Iāve had three different audiologists for insurance covered hearing tests or consultation and they were all very good. I recommend them highly if you are willing to pay market rates. In your case (and mine) it might be a matter of making perfection the enemy of the good. 
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Seriously your actually ādebatingā it! Uh man save your dollars and buy the wife some nice earrings!
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Thank you.
I got my Paradise P90rās almost 3-1/2 years ago. My 3 Audis always used REM until my dispensing Audi and I parted. About 2 years ago.
I considered doing it myself. Target and all.
My new hearing instrument specialist never did REM. His setup was always better than the Audi I got them from.
A month ago he did REM. It made a real difference
Last setup he made adjustments. I requested he use a different tuning program. Iām happier now. Less background noise. I hear better as long as I turn up the volume two clicks
I honestly donāt know anymore.
REM Or not?
DIY? Of course no REM
I am enjoying my hearing aids more. I guess thatās what is important.
These are my third pair of Phonak. However, I canāt understand why itās been so stressful reaching this point
Thanks for your comment
DaveL
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I have issue with this statement, DIY hearing programming seldom turns out well.
Certainly it may save money, but leaving treatment of one of your senses to a DIY attemptā¦it could result in a less than positive outcome and damage to the users remaining hearing.
According to me the best way is: buying hearing aids online cheaply, first remote tuning, then REM and some further programming during the REM session, and finally minor DIY adjustments starting from a good base.
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Said who? Na it works for most of us because only the person who programs ones HAs could possibly know how one likes to hear, no one else could possibly know this! Plus itās super easy to do, but of course itās not for everyone, a little bit of research and reading the user guides can get the results that the clinicās couldnāt offer.
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Tenkan, your posts give me hope, but I have no programming background. Would you think that I (retired math teacher) would be able to program my own hearing aids? My husband and I have been talking about it!
Thanks for your help.
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I personally suggest it. I had no background but itās a trial and error thing and you end up learning. The good thing is that you can try up straight away things and verify what works for you.
REM is always suggested.
So, if you start from good base, you can only improve things with DIY.
The software is not complicated and Iām available to teach you what Iāve learned from the marvellous people that populate this forum.
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With a math background you are probably very logical.
Anyone can self program hearing aids. It just takes a get it done and persistent attitude
There is good help here on the forum too. If I can do it anyone can. Even if you donāt like it you can sell the Noahink wireless.
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Thanks for the recommendation, Damon!
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Thank you, Raudrive! It sounds good!
In May, I will be looking into new hearing aids, most likely from Costco. Self programming seems like it would be very helpful.
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Yeah @birdcountry99 youāll easily conquer Target software, if you are using Phonak aids, it isnāt difficult, and you are the best person to adjust your own hearing, you know instantly what you like, and dislikeā¦ Personally, I havenāt touched reprogramming my aids for a couple of years now, I believe if something is set up well, then leave well aloneā¦ My Naida Lumity BTE UPās were set up exceptionally well at first fit, they havenāt been adjusted since day 1, November 2023, so I donāt feel the need to tweak them, no REM was done at that time, so an excellent fit can be obtained, so REM isnāt imperative! Good Luck in your endeavours for a better overall hearing experience Cheers Kev
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I second the āstart from a good baseā approach. Also, make sure the original programming is always available to return to if you need it. You connect the aids, the software reads the fitting information from the aids and you save that session before doing anything else.
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