My experience with Costco has been great. No complaints.
But even though my insurance with BCBSTX lists a $2500 allowance for hearing aids, I have yet to successfully get anything but denied the even though the total cost from Costco is significantly is less than the allowance. And I gotten nothing but a run-around from the insurance company as to why.
I don’t know the specifics of your “insurance,” but many hearing aid insurance providers aren’t what they seem. Many just lock you into one seller and offer a “discount” but often are not any kind of a bargain.
Djw, I know Costco doesn’t work with insurance companies on hearing aids; it’s up to the beneficiary to handle all the paperwork in terms of submitting claims. As MDB is indicating, some insurance plans will only cover certain aids from certain providers, which does not include Costco. If that is true for your policy, you may well come out ahead paying for Costco aids out-of-pocket and forgoing insurance coverage, rather than using the often-overpriced and subpar-quality aids you could get through insurance, if you can afford to do so.
Did you see this thread?
I have been replacing mine on an average of every three years because of the advancements in hearing aid technology and Bluetooth connectivity. I keep the previous set as a spare and donate the older ones. If I wasn’t getting them at Costco prices, I couldn’t justify replacing them that often.
My Costco experiences have been positive. I’ve never had to wait more than two weeks for an appointment. If the situation was urgent, they found a way to fit me in within a couple of days. When my KS10s had to go in for service, they provided me with a loaner pair. On another occasion, I had receiver die while visiting my sister out of state. I went into her local Costco on a Sunday morning without an appointment and walked out 10 minutes later with a replacement receiver.
Yes, the Costco Hearing Aid Center staff are fitters not audiologists, but if they are stuck on a problem they have always been willing to reach out to the manufacturer, or regional Costco audiologist to find a resolution.
I believe my HA coverage is administered by BCBS of Illinois, but my former employer self-insures. When our 1st submission was rejected, my wife got on the phone with BCBS to get everything right. It was a struggle, but worth it.
Does anyone knows what’s Costco HA offering for profound hearing loss folks?
They use to have Brio-5 which was the same as Phonak Naida Paradise P90 UP, I assume since they’ve scrapped Phonak from their portfolio, that they will no longer be offering Brio-5!
I wonder what’s the replacement for Brio-5?
Thx
Great question. I don’t know if they still offer UP BTEs or not. It is not clear from their online material but they should be able to answer if you called them.
I was there 2 days ago. They definitely say they sell at least one brand of BTEs, and probably 2 or 3 brands.
I was there today but nobody was there (lunch break maybe?, or maybe closed Sundays for the time being) I saw some indication of a BTE from Rexton I think, but nothing clear and nothing that suggested they had an UP BTE.
Some Costco hearing aid centers are only open 5 days a week. Mine fortunately is open Saturdays as well. Check yours to see when they’re open.
Hopefully, they will either bring Phonak Audeo/Naida back or go with Unitron Moxi/Stride.
I was thinking they might have Philips hearlink BTE PP:
I went to Costco about 4 to 5 months ago and asked about options for severe to profound loss with a BTE. They had nothing at that time. The Philips hearlink has a BTE PP but the fitting range did not go down beyond 85db if I recall. The audiologist rang their support line and confirmed this.
I posted this at the time. The only options Costco had were RICs with a UP receiver.
In the past few months I think Resound have extended their Nexia line with a BTE so maybe Jabra will be offered in a BTE.
Ours used to be open 7 days a week. I’ll make sure to call if I need something other than batteries on a weekend.
I was at Costco today. Looking at brochures, it looked liked only Rexton offered a BTE and it was rechargeable. I asked the front desk person and she confirmed that they carry no UP BTE.
I see the word “fitter” used a lot on this website. Technical staff at Costco hearing centers in California are termed “hearing aid dispensers” (in many states they are officially “hearing aid technicians” or “specialists”). In all cases, they have had to pass a state exam and complete a certain amount on on-the-job training.
My employer’s health insurance covers hearing aids up to a point. I have BCBS of Texas coverage. First of all, I would have to go to an audiologist on their approved list and pay the $65 copay for the hearing test. Then, the insurance will cover up to $3,000 for hearing aids after meeting my individual annual $1,500 deductible. One of my colleagues used our insurance for his hearing aids and he bought his aids from the approved audiologist. He said that his total out of pocket cost was about $1,500. When I asked him what kind he bought, he said that he couldn’t remember the exact model. He said that his audiologist gave him three choices, expensive ones, less expensive, and lesser expensive. He said he went with the middle ones.
I’m being fitted with Jabra Enhanced 20 hearing aids on Monday. My total cost from Costco is $1,599 total. Costco doesn’t accept insurance. I didn’t even bother with the insurance. Going to Costco makes 100% economic sense. Your health insurance company is only interested in collecting your premiums, your health and well being is not even their secondary concern.
The best thing that’s happened in recent years is the approval of over the counter hearing aids. Not only have they raised the importance of hearing health, but they have encouraged others to get into the business of less expensive alternatives. I tried the Apple AirPods version 2, and returned them because I wasn’t satisfied with them for use as hearing aids. They are wonderful headphones.
I did hearing aids at Costco. I had the Kirkland signature tens. Not sure why your audiologist is quoting you such a high price. What hearing aids does he recommending at that price point? Guess it depends on where you live. I’m in the midwest and I just got the infinio sphere i-90s for $2,299 each. Like $4,500 for a pair. At the time I got signature tens they were more toward the top of the line. That was almost 3 years ago. Technology has changed a great deal. But Costco offered a good deal on hearing aids. They were less expensive. Service was great, and a lot of the necessary supplies like wax filters and domes were free. Lots of follow-up. The audiologist was great. I’d definitely recommend Costco if your insurance allows it.
My Kaiser Medicare advantage plan covers $4,000 of the cost of hearing aids once every two years at Kaiser if you pay the additional monthly fee.
According to the audiologist there, the top of the line Phonak, Oticon, Resound and Widex are around $4,800 a pair. So that’s $800 plus the monthly charge for hearing aids at Kaiser in the Seattle area.
The downside to Kaiser is that the audiology department is understaffed. So appointments can be a bit difficult to get.
My only issue with Costco is that they my not take enough time getting one’s hearing aid dialed in unless you are very good at advocating for yourself and expressing what the issue is. However, you can say the same thing about an independent audiologist.
For the DIYer, they are a great way to get a top-on-line hearing aid for a low cost.
Anyhow, with their money back return policy, it’s a no brainer to start with them if you don’t have insurance or have to drive far to a Costco.
My company insurance is managed by Blue Cross & Blue shield of Texas. When I inquired about the hearing aid benifit, I realized that going to Costco was a better option. First the insurance required that I get my hearing tested from an Audiologist or ENT, which requires $65 copay. Then I would have to meet my annual $1,500 deductible expense. One of my colleagues, went through our insurance and the Audiologist offered him three levels of hearing aids. He chose the middle one and his total cost was around $1,500. I don’t know what brand or model he purchased.
I just got home from being fitted with my first hearing aids from Costco. The experience has been fantastic. I live in the DFW area and my closest Costco is their South Lake store. My hearing test, performed by Steph was comprehensive and I told her I was interested in the Jabra Enhanced Pro 20 devices. On various YouTube channels they get excellent reviews.
After the tests, she loaned me a pair to try out in the store. I was immediately impressed how well I could hear others conversations, regardless of the noise in the place. I bought them on the spot. The only drawback with Costco is that I couldn’t get a fitting appointment for a couple of weeks. However, compared to the prices for the same quality devices elsewhere, I didn’t mind the wait.
Today, I returned for the fitting and Steph spent about an hour and a half with me. She did a test with the hearing aids in my ears while connected to a machine that made static sounds, followed by a woman speaking German at three different volume levels. Then she spent time teaching me how to put them on and take them off. As well as daily cleaning. I would recommend Costco to anyone.
When I got home, for the first time in at least a couple of years, I could hear my wife clearly without her having to raise her voice. That’s worth the admission price.
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