You always need a baseline with tinnitus, because experiences and levels vary tremendously. I have moderate+ tinnitus (which, to me, means that my tinnitus is loud enough to make whispering and speech that is soft or distant less comprehensible, even with aids). Mine came on gradually over decades. It’s a hiss at multiple distinct frequencies for me.
I have ReSound Quattros with the tinnitus app feature. My audi enabled it only when I asked, and somewhat reluctantly, I thought, as if he didn’t think it would be helpful. It wasn’t. I wouldn’t pay anything extra for it. I haven’t used it in a year or more.
It doesn’t do anything to neutralize, reduce, or remove the sound of tinnitus. It’s a masking device, IMO, similar to using an electronic device that generates white/brown/pink noise, or birds chirping, ocean waves, etc… You can get a similar effect with a smartphone app and Bluetooth to the aids.
The tinnitus feature overlays additional sound on top of the tinnitus. Some people find this helpful, but it’s cognitively helpful in those cases as a distraction, not an auditory solution. For me, it just makes speech comprehension more challenging, as any extra background sound does.
Other users may have other views. I think patients whose tinnitus came on very suddenly are in a different place. They tend to be more annoyed by tinnitus and may benefit from a distraction. Others like me are used to it and not seeking distraction, only removal or reduction, which is not at this time possible.
But I think it’s telling that Costco does not offer it. They don’t want the hassles of servicing it, or refunding people who are unhappy with it. And they don’t think it’s something most tinnitus patients will benefit from.