Time is valuable and saving more than half the cost of hearing aids by going to Costco is a fair trade off. The reason is simple you are not the only patient who wants to save money. According to a recent Wall Street Journal article, Costco is the second largest purveyor of hearing aids next to the VA.
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I just picked up some demo Jabra 30s this week from Costco. I had tried the 20s (OK, but not great) and then the Rexton Reaches (which were a real disappointment for me). My acid test of the 30s was go to a very noisy restaurant/bar and have a conversation with my wife. Dialing in the noise reduction on the app really suppressed a lot of the restaurant background noise (it was almost like the noise cancelling experience on my Apple Pro Airbuds). But I was still having trouble understanding my wife sitting across the table from me. I bumped up the gain, but that still didn’t help. I then toggled on speech clarity in the app and her voice jumped out at me over all the remaining noise.
I am really impressed with the 30s so far. The clarity of speech is superb and the Jabra app has all the features I want so I can tweak my listening experiences. I am getting a little feedback on one ear if I cup my ear with my hand, so I will see what the audiologist has to say when I see her next. I just wish that Jabra would make some sleeve-shaped domes like those from Rexton and offer a smaller charging case like Rexton’s case. None of the Jabra domes (open, closed, power, tulip) are as comfortable as the Rexton sleeve domes - at least for my ears.
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Glad to hear they worked well. Were you using the Hear in Noise program when you were in the restaurant? That is where you should get best results in restaurants etc. The Noise filter and Speech clarity tabs are available in All-Around, Hear in Noise and Outdoor programs (but not music)
My Costco fitter checked for feedback during the fitting asking me to cup my hand over my ear and no feedback. I do get a little when putting them into my ear.
Yeah, I was in the Hear in Noise program, of which I have two such programs with the same name set up from my legacy Jabra 20s. One programs gives me the choice of Noise Filter or Speech Clarity. The other Hear in Noise program has Noise Filter, Speech Focus and Hear Everyone as choices on the main menu and gives you the option to select the degree of speech focus from Wide, Medium, Narrow and Automatic in the Sound Enhancer mode. These were given to me as loaner demos, so we really didn’t do a complete setup and test of the hearing aids before I left to check for feedback or other issues (I got to take them home for a couple of days because we both wanted me to avoid me having to return a 3rd set of hearing aids to Costco). But I did get a variety of domes, and they all seem to produce a little feedback in one ear (my worse one) unless I dial back the gain in that ear. I’m wondering if there is a feedback suppression setting in the hearing aid setup software?
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Yes, there is feedback suppression.
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I also switched from the E/H Pro 20s to the 30s yesterday. I haven’t had a chance to go to my favorite, very noisy, restaurant and try out the noise canceling function. When I had the 20s, my right ear would give me feedback if I cupped my right ear. Getting feedback while inserting the dome in your ear is normal. Think about how close the speaker, which goes in in your ear canal, is from the microphones. So far the 30s don’t give me any feedback even when cupping my ears.
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Unsure as to which level compared to the Resound Vivias the Jabra 30s are; the R.S. Vivias start at Level 5 to 9 (the top level). I would appreciate any advice on this question.
Thanks in anticipation
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As far as I have seen they the same as Vivia 9.
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They are definitely the top model 9, Costco only sell the premium models across all brands sold in store.
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Except for Costco’s newest addition to their prescription hearing aid brands, all of the three others, Jabra, Phillips, and Rexton are the top of the line devices from each manufacturer. The Jabra Enhanced Pro 30 is the same as the ReSound Viva 9. Jabra is the rebranded version for Costco. I can’t recall their newest brand, but it’s one level below the top of that manufacturer’s line.
The latest release is Jabra Pro 30, what model is one level “below” the premium? Your not taking about OTC are you?
The other brand, that I couldn’t remember, is the Sonite R, by Sennheiser. it’s made by Sonova. I think Sonova bought the consumer brand Sennheiser. The Sonite R is the only one that Costco sells that’s not the latest version. It may be one generation behind.
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Oh that one, the rebranded Phonak Lumity, for some reason I thought you were talking about resound, so good thing they’ve rolled out to all stores now, I wonder if this will end up being a worldwide trend.
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I don’t know which version of Sonova they are.
Here’s my source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CP0pbVui5JE
They are the same as Lumity platform.
I dropped into Costco today (without an appointment) and my audiologist bumped my feedback suppression up a level on my problematic ear. The feedback completely disappeared with that tweak. I was also walking in a windy area yesterday and bumped up the wind noise suppression in the app. The wind noise immediately disappeared. Amazing.
So, I ordered a pair of the Jabra 30s today. I also got fitted for a Jabra silicone ear mold ($40) to see if it is any more comfortable than any of the Jabra domes. I can live with the Jabra domes and expect that I will get more use to them over time. But I wanted to see if a mold was better right out of the chute, comfort and hearing-wise. I will also be curious to see what, if any, occlusion effect I might experience with a mold.
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Before I went to Costco, last fall, I decided to buy a pair of Apple AirPods to see if they could work as hearing aids. I took the built in iPhone hearing test, which the results are was very similar to the one I took at Costco a year earlier. The quality of the sound from the AirPods was not bad considering the price. However, having my ears completely occluded was maddening. This was in addition to the discomfort of having the things stuck in my ears. After a few days of dissatisfaction, I returned them to Amazon and made an appointment at my local Costco. Although $40 is not a fortune, I would go with the standard domes until I tried them first.
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I was afraid of total occlusion, too, but I thought the molds were worth checking out, especially because I could return the molds and get my money back.
The molds cam back with vents about 2 mm in diameter, so they were comfortable from the start. Later I got molds that are molded to the receivers. These molds go much deeper into my ear than the external, removable molds did, and they help me more than the external molds. I suggest discussing them with your fitter.
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I’m trialing Costco’s Jabra as BTE style. Do you know what the diff would be between the Jabra 30s your ordered and BTE. Does BTE make a difference???
If your talking about yours being Pro 20 BTE, that would be a big difference from Pro 30 which is ReSound’s latest with AI, BTE can make a postive difference for those with severe profound losses, post your audogram as this will help everyone offer more advice.
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