Last time I checked, Costco was selling the Phone Clip+ for $209.99. It’s unlikely you can buy it cheaper than that from anyone.
why did i use the term “broke down” to state i was going to costco? thank you for asking. as a small business owner in the USA, i prefer to buy from small businesses selling american made products. but many times i have to buy non american made and sometimes from big box stores such as costco, sams, walmart and others. i attempted to find a local dispenser who might sell unbundled but i found this is not possible. i then attempted to buy through a discount plan but the AARP plan handles products that are disappointing. the connect hearing store in my town was a nightmare. so, i will be driving a hundred miles to costco. if i’m going to be inconvenienced, i want the best product at the lowest price which it seems to be costco. the only others left would be internet providers but none of the local dispensers will service them even if i buy the same exact brand and pay them handsomely.
Thanks. That’s a lot more reasonable.
Hello,
We could use some help. My wife has had a sudden loss of hearing. Bilateral, mild to severe down sloping is what it says on the audiometry.
We live about 6 hours north of San Francisco in a town that has two audiologist and a Costco.
UCSF Medical Center has been very helpful and has suggested that we buy two Oitcon Alta #2 pro mini rite aids with extras totaling for apx $7,000. Our insurance will only pay $700 so we have to out of pocket a bunch.
I checked Costco web site and they don’t carry this brand and don’t know if they have something that would be close.
My wife is an educator and is off work now until we get this fixed.
Please send some advice our way.
With much thanks
With Costco’s discount price, 90 day return policy, and excellent warranty, I would suggest you start there. They may not have the same brand as your local medical center, but Costco carries several brands that your wife can try. The results she obtains will likely be more dependent upon the skill of the person doing the fitting than the brand of the HA’s.
I checked Costco website and didn’t see the specific brands/models of IIC type HAs listed. Could you please help? I’m very interested in Starkey’s soundLens as I heard it’s one of the best. Also, do I need to be a costco member to purchase HA there? Thanks a lot！！
You do need to be a member in order to purchase hearing aids. Costco sells IICs from Bernafon, Phonak, and ReSound.
Yes, REM is standard protocol. If for some reason it isn’t completed, request it.
I understand and I am definitely with you on buying locally. My family is full of business owners & I am actually one myself. However, I will not justify prohibitive prices. Some of the companies in my area have touted the “we are an independent family owned clinic”, meanwhile they were backed by a manufacturer to open up shop. I wish everyone would use an affordable hearing aid delivery model so that we could serve the millions who are unable to afford hearing aids, along with those who simply will not spend the outrageous amounts of money seen on price tags in the industry. Good luck on your hearing aid journey.
All premium hearing aids offer virtually the same things. DO NOT be swayed into thinking that $7000.00 spent will get her better hearing aids than the ones offered at Costco. A premium hearing aid is a premium hearing aid, whether you’re paying $7000.00 or $3000.00. It all comes down to the individual that sets up the hearing aid along with the hearing aid wearer’s motivation & compliance with instructions.
Also, have you guys consulted with an ENT regarding her sudden hearing loss?
ReSound & Bernafon offer IICs @ Costco. Definitely give either one a try.
Yes we have - My wife has really been through a hard time – it has taken us three months to get where we are today – they think, but still are not sure that it some kind of auto immune disorder. It all started when she had no appetiteand for 6 months and lost 50 LBS without trying – then came the high elevated white blood cell count and that brought on the migraines that lasted for days. As those two issues started to clear, it hit her inner ear and she lost hearing and also became very dizzy.
Finally last week the ENT at UCSF put her prednisone and75% of the dizziness went away and she was able to walk without holding on to my arm for the first time in a month.
She wants her life back and that starts with being able to hear and hopefully clearing up her dizzness and alowing her to go back to work and doing the things she loves most,working with children.
What brands and models would you suggest for her?
We are looking for any help and advice.
Thank you
I’ve had a hearing test at Costco and have a May 1 appointment for the initial post-test consult. But many experienced members here have said the same thing about the fitter’s competence being crucial to success. I just asked audiogal this question on another thread… How can we know, or at least estimate, in advance whether a fitter (audiologist or HIS) is competent?
if you listen to the independent, the chain dispenser is incompetent. if you listen to the audiologist they will say the dispenser who is not an audi is incompetent. yesterday, i was talking to a dispenser who when i visited her in her office was not familiar with the products associated with the AARP program. i left with the agreement she would become familiar with the products and call me back. when she called she was familiar with only one.
it is my opinion that dispensers, audis and fitters, many are not intensely familiar with their products and the software to program them. i have found this same lazy attitude in other professions.
since the customer has no recourse except to return the aids within the trial period, the instant you suspect the dispenser is not capable in the trial period, return the aids and move on. otherwise you have become financially married to a partner who will not be pulling their side of the load.
Thanks! She’s looking forward to trying these out. Her testing appointment is this morning.
No hearing aid voice, but wanted to make sure your Doctors had considered the diagnosis of ‘Temporal Arteritis.’ This is an autoimmune disease affecting the older population, with some of the common symptoms (malaise, weight loss, headaches) matching your wife’s. There are potential significant complications with vision if this were the diagnosis (I’m an Ophthalmologist), and it needs to be treated aggressively (with Prednisone, often high dose in the beginning), and closely monitored.
Good luck!
We have a ENT apointment this afternoon and I will bring it up.
Do you any sugestions for what HA we should buy and what model.
Thank you
Greg, I had a similar experience to your wife. In the Fall 2014, I began experiencing vertigo and nausea that I thought was a flu. I have ulcerative colitis, which is auto-immune related, and it had been under control for several years, and suddenly it began flaring up violently. I assumed my problems were related to the flare-up and maybe a flu too. Blood tests at that time showed an elevated white count. I began experiencing ear and neck pain a few weeks lately and ENT put me on antibiotics. I still felt generally unwell, but seemed to “recover”.
The First day of January, I began experiencing stabbing pains in my left ear and neck. I already had a sensorneurinol hearing loss of 10% and 15% in my right and left ear respectively, but after the pains I could barely hear at all and I was very scared. I went to an ENT again and this time they put me on prednisone to try to bring the hearing back up. I was one 2 separate two week courses of it consecutively. It did help a little in my right ear, but a hearing test showed that all useful hearing in left ear was gone and the right ear had decreased significantly to what it was before the attack.
I still felt unwell and 7 different doctors ranging from primary care, ENT, neurologist, and gastroenterologist did not know what was wrong with me. Each specialist seemed to only want to treat their own part. The neurologist gave me prescription Dramamine! Some doctor “guessed” that I could have Lyme Disease, Meniere’s disease, Sjogren’s, or even MS! After being tested for all these things and coming back negative, the doctor’s were stumped. w
Many of them said that the vertigo issue was due to the hearing loss…ell then why did the vertigo come BEFORE the sudden hearing loss? Anyway, by accident they finally diagnosed me in February… I had a severe gall bladder infection which was full of stones and it needed to come out ASAP.
MY own guess is that because of the undiagnosed gall bladder infection, and white count, which was elevated for 6-8 months, my immune system began attacking- hence the ulcerative colitis flare-up and then it also attacked my hearing. My gall bladder issue was detective BY ACCIDENT as the gastroenterologist had ordered a liver panel and it came back with 2 liver enzymes being very elevated (which could have meant liver cancer, hepatitis, or cirrhosis). It turned out the liver enzyme being high was due to the prednisone, but the gastroenterologist decided to order an ultrasound to check… and that’s when they found the gall bladder. The gall bladder surgeon told me that all different doctors putting me on high dose steroids probably didn’t help. And she put me on high level antibiotics to try to get the inflammation and infection under control before the surgery so I could have the laproscopic. Of course the gastroenterologist hates me being on any antibiotics because they can cause the colitis to flare and also parasites.
I hope that someone else can be helped by this story.
Also, I have been ripped off to the tune of $550 by audiologists for very little service just wanting to try hearing aids to suit my new loss. I find many of them are extremely pushy and want to push you into a hearing aid that is best for THEM as far as profit and comfort (their own personal knowledge). My advice is to gather a ton of information and know what you want before you go. Make sure the audiologist you choose actually sells the hearing aid brand you are interested in and is knowledgeable about programming them.
I also recommend you check out Hearing Revolutions. you can’t beat their prices and you won’t have to buy re-branded models that are a few models behind the top of the line like at the big box stores. I was a little concerned at first to buy this way, but it has been a very good experience. http://hearingrevolution.com/
Sorry. I have no expertise in HAs. You should be able to get excellent advice from the others here.
Referrals from their patients are the best indicator, I think. If I were looking around, I’d want someone who would sit down for a free consult so we could see if we’re compatible, and ask them questions to see not just the content of their answers but also how they react to being questioned. That can tell you lots, I think.