Private provider vs Costco or other

Your question is an excellent one… and welcome to the forum.

We had another similar thread just recently which I’d encourage you to read through and then ask additional questions in your thread pertaining to your particular situation if needed.

As I suggested in that thread, even moderate/severe hearing loss can be treated well at a much lower price point than what was first recommended for you. I assume you’re posting about Hearing Unlimited… it’s okay to be specific here. At some of these chains and private audiologists, it’s like going into a new car or electronics dealer. Many of them will try and upsell you into top-of-the-line gear, but the bang-for-the-buck is lower, and that upsell meets their (luxury car or boat payment?) need$ more than yours. It’s not that there aren’t benefits to high-end gear, but you may have to pay a lot more for relatively small gains in hearing performance. So if your budget would be strained at that higher level, feel free to say, 'I know that’s not necessary, so What Else Ya Got?!?."

Costco (and some private audiologists) don’t play these upsell games. They’ll give you a range of choices. Just keep in mind: prices can escalate faster than benefits.

Also as I said in that thread, you’re buying aids that you should anticipate needing to replace, on average, in about four or five years. Kinda like smartphones. So budget accordingly. Some aids you may get 6 or 8 years, even a decade out of, but especially at that upper end, that’s not the experience of many users. Pricier aids don’t necessarily last longer. Some aids get lost in the first year or two. They take a pounding and wear quickly. Parts may become difficult to come by, because manufacturers discontinue aid models in a couple years. This is a good reason why $2,000 aids from Costco may be a much smarter buy for you than $7,000 aids from HU.

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