Phonak or Oticon, also, Zip Hearing?

Hearing Aids Manufacturer Support
#1

About to get my first non- Costco hearing aid since early 2000’s. I would love to hear from folks who have recently gotten the phonak Lumity or the Oticon Real.

Also, what is the general thinking about Zip? Seems legit? They sell hearing aids at a reasonable price and include local services. I wasn’t expecting very much from local services but the place they use in my town, Birmingham, AL, is a practice with 3 ENT’s that specialize in ears, and they have several AuD.

Is there a catch, or a gotcha?

All comments, help, opinions appreciated!

#2

Zip Hearing is definitely legit and you can generally save a lot using them. But it also depends upon how much follow-up and after care you’ll need. They have a good vetted network of local audiologists.

#3

I have Lumity 90s, from Ziphearing. Highly recommend both! I’m sure you know to try out several brands to see what sounds best and which features you want or need. I loved the sound of Widex, but the tech features weren’t what I wanted. Oticon was my first choice on paper but didn’t help my speech recognition as much as Lumity. YMMV.

DM me if you’d like contact information for the wonderful person at Zip I worked with. He’s awesome! And I saved about $1400 compared to what the Audi in the ENT office charges. Good luck!

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#4

I also used Zip hearing and was very satisfied with the experience. Up front pricing, as most people prefer, and they connected me with a well trained audiologist who fitted and maintains the aids.

#5

Zip hearing has been great for me. Saved me THOUSANDS. Jeff is great to work with, and he is very honest. He doesn’t sugar coat, or try to sell you something you don’t want or need.

#6

ZipHearing is great to work with. No sales pitch. If you want HAs they will sell them to you at a good price. I returned my first pair and the credit was in my account the next morning. Much faster than I expected. Purchased another pair from them a few weeks later and saved about $1,500 over HearingLife. Also I had the choice of a few audiologists which they work with in my area and I am really happy with the one they recommended.

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#7

This could be a good option for people who move around and don’t want to use Costco. At least there’s a network of audiologists that ZipHearing could send one to for warranty or other assistance.

Edit: According to the ZipHearing website:

Your purchase includes 1 year of unlimited appointments with your local ZipHearing provider. After your first year of ownership, additional appointments with your local ZipHearing provider are (at the most) $65 each.

#8

I have used ZipHearing and was extremely pleased with the service and price. The audiologist I wanted to use was in their network. Good folks.

Like someone else here, I returned my first set of OPN S1s because of an ergonomic issue with the recharable units. The ones with the 312 batteries were in my hands either overnight or second day. Extraordinary service.

#9

I am in the market for new HAs. I have 8 year old Kirkland KS6 from Costco, and I am considering either Costco or a Truhearing affiliated local provider. I did contact Zip but their closest provider is 40 miles away. I assume that Tru and Zip are comparable. The Tru prices are good discounts similar to Zip. Premium HAs typically run $4000+ as compared to Costco $1600+. My big question is do I need a higher level of service than Costco provides and can I get it from the Tru provider.

Tru gave me 3 local providers. The best one was to audi Drs, each with 15+ years of experience and a hearing tech. One of the Drs fitted me for my first HAs 13 years ago at another practice. Our local Costco just lost their only audi and there is not one at the other local Costco. Obviously, the level of experience is much greater at the local Tru provider. Is it worth the extra cost? Not sure.

I asked this same question about Truhearing recently which you may find interesting: Anyone have experience with TruHearing?

The biggest criticism, which may apply to Zip as well, is that the HSP did not have enough time to properly serve customers. I talked with the audi Dr at local Tru provider, and she assured me that had never been a problem for them.

#10

Looking at your audiogram, I’d say if you want to hear high frequency sounds (be able to hear the “s” sound), Phonak’s frequency lowering system would give you better access.

#11

I looked into Zip and it seems legit, and a good deal. However, i did not find anything that would imply you you could change local support, or use someone else if traveling. I think all your local services have to go through your local person, determined at the beginning.

#12

Prices at hearing revolution are even better than zip and the system is pretty much the same. It is a direct-to-consumer arm of Hearing Care Solutions, a major supplier of hearing aids to insurance companies.

#13

I’ve was told (from an audiologist) that zip has an order against them to stop selling Oticon. They said they were cracking down on places selling through the internet. Don’t know if it’s true or not and I asked zip if they could still get Oticon. Interested if anyone else has heard anything or just sour grapes with audiologists?
Update: Zip says they sell a ton of Oticon and said to call them (gave me their phone#)

#14

Do they have the Reals, didn’t see them on the website?

#15

Yes, they do. I called them and they confirmed that they have both the Reals and the Phonak Lumity. Funny thing is that the rep with whom I spoke referred me to this site for details on both since they’re not yet posted on their site.

#16

My medical coverage has a benefit through Hearing Care Solutions. They were hard to communicate with, no online presence, just a very simple website. I paid them my part and they sat on my order for a month before they placed the order with Phonak.

#17

I have tried phonak vs oticon. and I think, I like the Oticon (bernafon ) in terms of comfort, and hybrid process noise , which I didn’t find in the phonak.

#18

I had just the opposite experience with Hearing Revolution. Service for my order was readily available to answer any of my questions. Just a phone call away. When I made my purchase through them, hearing aids were developed promptly to a local audiologist. When I had questions even a couple of years later, there was someone available to answer my questions. Absolutely no complaints with them.