My hearing aids were supplied by Workman’s Comp. The dispensing audi that supplied them said that due to volume the cost he was paid to supply and set up was much much less than his cost if he sold them to a customer who bought their own.
Phonak Audeo Paradise P90R’s.
I never saw them or was asked to comment. They were handed to me setup for my use. I would never have accepted rechargeble batteries. I use them 17+ hours a day.
I don’t have any more info apart from tinnitus option, which was mentioned on this forum, I for sure didn’t pay attention to the threads comparing them on this forum.
The counter argument is that Costco provides a necessary service that more folks can afford to pay. As such, they now take part in family and work conversations with improved mental health.
While I’ll agree that some things are removed from the Costco hearing aids, I don’t agree with you saying the hearing aids are not premium.
When you say that they are not premium hearing aids, you are over selling it.
So, you either take your medicine and get a decent healthcare system up and running that offers a proper alternative service or you end up with a Costco based service.
In either case, you can’t blame someone like Dr Cliff for attempting to preserve his delivery model. If you rocked up at my shop with a Costco product I’d think twice before servicing it tbh.
Ack Dr Cliff! I DO watch some of his videos - in particular the ones linked to from some posts at our forum.
Yeah, he comes across as a bit of a SHILL! He’s still got good information to share, and I’ve learned some things from his videos. I totally get that if you buy from an audiologist, you’re abrogating the “low cost” route and paying for the LONG TERM relationship. That has been my preference ever since my first pair of aids 35 yrs ago.
But I totally support folks who need or want to save money and get a VERY VERY good product from Costco. Audis/fitters there are luck of the draw. You could luck out, save a bundle and get a caring, competent audi.
My recent Oticon Intent 1 trial ended cuz the AUDI from an ENT CLINIC clearly didn’t want to go the extra mile for me. She is a different audi than my Phonak gal, who I’ve worked with for a couple years now. So, again, luck of the draw. I’m in favor of everyone trying out the purchase routes they want, and then making the decision for themselves. Dr Cliff - ever the self-promoter - doesn’t get that if he ENCOURAGES folks to do that, he’ll get the patients he’d probably rather work with, instead of those who want to shave dollars off the total cost.
This isn’t so much “David vs Goliath” as it is relationship vs transaction.
Actually the Philips hearing aids do come with a tinnitus option. Costco just doesn’t offer that service.
From what I’ve looked in the programming software, it doesn’t seem like it’s going to help very many folks. For the most part, it’s just a background noise generator.
You are over selling it. We don’t have any idea how many folks that went with Costco originally and then decided an independent audiologist was a better fit, or just went without hearing aids.
Personally, Costco hasn’t been that bad. The worst thing I can say is that the hearing aid fitter did not turn on the adaptive gain setting that increases the gain as you get use to the hearing aid. I don’t know if this is a common problem, but it’s something that Dr Cliff seems to think Costco needs to improve on.
I’ve seen family members that have gone to an independent audiologist to get hearing aids, and the hearing aid wound up residing in the dresser drawer never to be seen again. As least with Costco’s 180 day trials, they could have got their money back.
Your national health care has it’s full share of issues. So don’t be too smug.
Yeah, there’s a lot to be said for the pay-for-it-yourself model. There are so many posters on this forum who’ve chosen to buy their own aids out-of-pocket, despite the theoretical availability of free ones in their country. I think that says a lot about the quality of that free care. The problem is that in that scenario, they’re paying for it twice: first via higher tax rates that pay for the “free” care, and then directly out of pocket when they go elsewhere because the free care isn’t very good. And I’ve seen posts by people left without working aids for months due to backups in the national system. If you’ve got school or work or family responsibilities and severe loss, you’ve really got no choice but to go private at that point, but again: paying for it twice. And if you can’t pay for it the second time, then you’ll just have to go without even though you’ve effectively already paid for the care you didn’t get.
The flip side, of course, is that those who truly can’t afford it get nothing at all rather than less-than-optimal care. That’s why I’m always posting on here trying to suggest ways for people to get what they need in the cheapest way possible. Sometimes that means OTC, sometimes it means DIY, sometimes it means eBay, and sometimes it means Costco.
The only other difference that I’m aware of is the case. The buttons and microphone openings are different. The case of the KS10 looks like a Hansaton case instead of a Phonak. Phonak supposedly put a lot of design effort into microphone openings to reduce wind noise.
OK, so many things. Where to start?
I think Dr. Cliff and every professional has every right to decide who their customers are, and what their service delivery model is.
Costco aids are not locked.
Costco does REM and professional adjustments.
Costco sells premium aids. For example, KS10 and phonak P90 have the same features, although some of them have different names. So, the rep can tell the independent shops that they are different, the KS10 doesn’t even have Sound Recover. Its true. In the KS10 it is called High Frequency Protect. Its exactly the same thing.
After relistening to the YouTube video I see his point and have to agree with some of what he is saying. I personally believe that having an audiologist that i know i am going to be ablebto see time after time is the most important part of my experience with dealing with my hearing loss. And I don’t want to feel that I am being pressured to get in and out any faster than the amount of time needed.
You guys need to take it easy on Dr. Cliff. He has contributed a ton of very useful YouTube videos to our community over the years and I personally don’t blame him for being tough on Costco. He has put his heart, soul and life savings into his profession and building his private practice and his mantra has always been to push the industry to provide the best possible services to hearing impaired users. Does this come at a cost? Of course. Are their cheaper options out there (like Costco) that work for some people? Of course. But you can’t blame him for wanting to provide the highest level of service to his clients and being critical of those who are not.
I pay a TON of money for my hearing aids but more than half of this cost goes towards my audiologist’s services (over a three year contract) vs the actual cost of the hearing aid hardware. I push my audiologist hard but he is a superstar and delivers whenever I need him. I know I’m paying him a ton of money but he is worth it.
Be happy with the type of care and provider you personally like but don’t beat on people like Dr. Cliff who have a high standard for care…and are not embarrassed to charge for it.
Just my 2 cents…
Jordan
Honestly, with the inflated prices of healthcare and those who provide it these days, I’m very happy I have the option to use a Costco to service my hearing needs without breaking the bank! I went to an Audi first and then to Costco and Costco won my business. They were more receptive, they spent more time with me during testing, and they offered a set of hearing aids, affordable hearing aids, that are doing a pretty good job of helping me in life. I’m beyond relieved that it didn’t require a “Doctor” to achieve this goal. It may not work for everyone, but it did for me. I get it. Some need a “Doctor” because of serious issues related to their hearing…
As far as what this guy said on his YouTube video, I can’t comment because I am not interested in his advice. I don’t feel I need it to make any sound decision about my hearing…
I’ve watched many of his videos and learned a lot.
I too have learned a lot from his infomercials. I’m sure his sponsors reward him very well. I live in the area so I contacted his office for an appointment. I wanted to bring in my premium aids to be reprogrammed using his best practices. After they explained the initial cost just to get started it was obvious that it was going to cost less to go to Costco and get new aids with unlimited service and guarantees. I wish he spent his time attacking Audiologist who fail miserably at providing good services rather than competitors he can’t compete against.
I have to agree. It shouldn’t matter where the hearing aid was purchased from. Dr Cliff will be okay with doing a REM from a product purchased from a “crappy” audiologist but not from Costco? It would seem that it’s not about hearing health anymore. It is a double standard
The only difference is on the level of adjustment for the features . The branded version might have 5 options to modify for a feature set and the Costco version might have 3 for the same feature set. At the end of the day the functionality are identical your are getting same hardware and function . This is what they do to justify the non Costco brand are supposed to be superior
By how much adjustment it has . This is true for the Signia IX which are the Rexton Bi-core. I self fit and that the only difference i see in the fitting software. By the way the siginias IX 7 were 6800 dollars vs 1800 two years ago
You do realise the ‘product’ in the Dr Cliff videos isn’t the one that you wear on your ears, right?
I use Phonak m90’s that were not purchased from Costco. Currently on a fast track for a cochlear implant.