First Time Visit to Costco

Hearing Aids
#44

Hopefully there is another Costco you can try. My experience was the polar opposite. The reps were always nice and almost go overboard to help out.

Costco is a horrible environment to demo hearing aids (if you ask me). Way too much going on in the store. Good for testing the background noise suppression I guess, but that’s about it. I say pick the set you think you want and take them home. With Costco’s great return policy, you have a super long time to demo them.

Jabra has the best phone app by far.

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#45

The 9040 mainly has 2 new features over the 9030:

  1. Sudden Sound Stabilizer
  2. Wind & Handling Stabilizer

They’re the same new features in the Oticon Real over the More. Reactions to these 2 features have been positive → they do what they’re supposed to do effectively, better than how their predecessors handle these 2 types of sound.

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#46

Sorry you had a bad experience at Costco. I had good service at Costco in both Portland Or and Phoenix. I would try a different hearing specialist at Costco next time. I got the Jabra at Costco at the end of January and I’m having the same issues that you’re having with the Phillips, plus a few others.

I seem to hear all the background noise and very little of the conversation in noisy environments, whether it be a restaurant or a crowded store. If I’m riding the light rail commuter train I can’t hear the podcast streaming to my hearing aids, even when I choose Streaming Focus.

The right hearing aid stopped working after 10 days and had to be sent back. It took a week to get a replacement.

I have a new Samsung Galaxy S24 Android phone and I have to restart it often because it doesn’t connect to both Jabra hearing aids.

I chose Jabra because it was highly rated by Consumer Reports, but the Phillips received the exact same scores in every category. I’m thinking of returning my Jabras and trying the Phillips.

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#47

I had my first visit to Costco two days ago and came home with the Jabra 20’s. So far so good. I’m hearing voices a lot clearer, especially at work where the environment is noisy and challenging. The noise filter on the Jabra App is nice and seems to work well for me. I have been using mostly the “All Around” and “Hear In Noise” programs. My iPhone 15 Pro Max paired easily with the Jabra’s and stays connected. My only issue was the large open domes were irritating my ears so I switched to the smaller size. The tech sent me home with both. No feedback issues.

My experience at Costco was great! The tech was thorough. She answered all my questions. She did the REM during the fitting and explained the importance of it. They were very busy but I never felt rushed. My Costco is an hour and forty minutes away. I paid $1600 for the Jabra’s. I feel it was worth the trip. We’ll see how things go with time. I have 180 days.

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#48

@booch, do you have hands free calling on your S24 with LE Audio? Specifically when on the phone, with Bluetooth enabled, do you use the HA mics to speak through, walking away from the phone, or do you need to hold the phone in your hands?

#49

@booch , I have the S23 and do not need to restart my phone. However I do need to toggle Bluetooth and sometimes disconnect and reconnect the HAs in Bluetooth/details.

Additionally, I used to have regular connecting/disconnecting of the HAs to the app, especially in the morning when I first put my HAs in. I found out that killing the app, if still running, AND then stop the app under ‘activate in background’. This is found by selecting the bottom left button of the home screen where you can kill apps, BUT, in the upper left corner are the small words ‘active in background’. I found the Enhance Pro app running for a while. Even past a restart of the phone…not a stop/start of course. This really helped.

Later someone else mentioned that they had to add the Enhance Pro app to ‘never auto sleeping apps’ in ‘background usage limits’.

Hope this helps some.

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#50

It’s pretty amazing how Phonak has done this for years with Bluetooth classic.
I truly miss it since going to Cochlear CI.

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#51

To me, the 9010, 9030, 9040, and Jabra EP 10 all sound different. The 9040 was a big upgrade in ‘natural’ sound compared to the other 3. I don’t know why they sound different, but they do. YMMV.

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#52

Check out the app first. If you’re into making your own adjustments, the Jabra one is way better.

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#53

I understand your disappointment. It looks like the technician at Costco didn’t pay enough attention to your needs. Consider other options or wait until the next Costco opens.

#54

It sounds like Jabra is a good choice for you.

Just for the record, the Phillips hearing aids are not made by Phillips, so past experience with other Phillips products is irrelevant. They are just branded with the Phillips name via a licensing agreement.

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#55

Good to know. Thank you!
Dave

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#56

That is surprising and disappointing. I had a great experience at Costco and don’t get any feedback in my Jabra hearing aids. I have tried to force it and can’t make it happen. I’m thinking that it may have been a stocking issue and she was trying to push what they had in stock. The technician I worked with pent almost two hours with me and said that they were constantly having to restock the Jabras because they sold out quickly. Hope you have better luck.

#57

I had a good experience at Costco 4 years ago when I got my KS9’s. But the REM setting didn’t work great for me. I prefer the sound I get with Audiogram Direct. It sounds like your fitter was having a bad day and just didn’t want to spend the time to do the job right. Or as someone else said it could have been a stocking issue with the fitters bring told to push certain models. In any case it sounds like looking elsewhere is in order.

#58

I’m not a fan of the cost structure of most hearing aid providers. The profit margin on the aids is something they rely on to fund their clinics and as consumers when we are comparing a commodity item we generally shop for the best price on similar items. There is no difference in the aids sold at a Costco vs an independent provider so as a consumer you have to acknowledge the huge buying power of Costco which enables them to sell at a lower cost and the need/desire of an independent provider to make a profit and provide great service. At the end of the day it comes down to what you can afford and your comfort level to perhaps pay a higher price for the commodity (the hearing aids) to get access to the best provider. I think most people go with the first provider they see instead of shopping around and comparing levels of service and price. The money you may save at Costco is not worth it if you don’t have confidence in how they get fitted or your provider is dismissive of your concerns. I know I pay a more for my aids than if I went to Costco and I also have to travel a bit to see my provider. That said I’m confident I’m getting the best care to help me deal with my hearing loss. If you can afford too spend more money, interview additional providers and spend the money. If you can’t at least try a different Costco or a different person at that Costco.

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#59

Yes, IMO what we’re paying for is the services and expertise of the hearing care professional, not just the product, the pair of hearing aids.

I was fortunate to find a certified and experienced audiologist at Costco. OTOH, as commendable as it is that Costco added REM a few years ago, the fact that they do not include speec in noise in their evaluations means that their assessment are not fully comprehensive. I also see a private audiologist who provides vacuuming of the hearing aids at no additional charge just as Costco does. He removes ear wax at no additional charge. I truly feel that he is providing comprehensive health care for my hearing loss and not just fitting and monitoring a piece of high tech equipment.

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#60

So very sorry you had this terrible experience. I also had a terrible experience at Costco, except I made the mistake of laying out the payment for a pair of hearing aids, which I could never get Costco to offer help or support for, when I had issues with it. It also did not live up to its billing of being bluetooth streaming compatible, which I paid extra for.

The thing with hearing aids is, the hardware by itself is never going to be enough to help you with your hearing loss. You are always going to have issues with different hearing environments, with wax gathering in your ears and impeding the sound transmission in your canal, with charging and/or batteries, with changes in your hearing, etc. etc. Your hearing loss is a work in progress, always, and you MUST have access to followup service with your HAs. Costco is simply not equipped to offer it.

Hearing loss is a medical condition with ongoing major impact on your quality of life and on the rest of your health, including your mental health. It’s never going away. Don’t make the mistake of expecting a big box store to offer decent medical treatment. Go to an ENT and an audiologist.

Pay attention to your gut feelings about the poor communication and treatment you got from this retail store salesperson. You are worth more than that. Get with someone who will give you the help you need.

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#61

Billgem, can you describe the speech in noise evaluation? Not sure what that entails, but my HIS did some testing with speech and noise during my exam…

#62

I too had a speech in noise evaluation. I believe it was part of the WRS testing.

Several times a year my partner goes to Costco to have her HAs cleaned where they put it into some sort of machine. It’s done when she gets through shopping. She’s never paid for anything additional after she’s bought her hearing aids in the past 12 years of HAs. Including things like cleaning, repairs, receivers and such.

Costco recommends the use of the ENT when people have things like ear wax or such. Personally I went to a CVS Minute Clinic for less and quicker when Costco recommended I see an ENT to get my earwax taken care of. My partner went to an ENT today after Costco noticed her eardrum was enflamed. On the other hand, it is pretty special to find an audiologist who will clean your ear wax.

There’s a lot of ways to manage one’s care. Me personally and my partner personally have had great experiences with different Costcos. Clearly people have different experiences of hearing professionals. I am saddened to hear of your experiences.

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#63

What is distracting to you is what I love about the 9040. They give me all of the sounds and let my mind do the filtering, just like it is used to work when I was younger and hearing all of the frequencies. I got frustrated with my previous hearing aids filtering out background noise. The great thing about the 9040 is that I get the background noise, but when they hear a voice they lock on and clarify it - they really work great for me.

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