Hearing aids from Costco

[Anonymous]

Are you really sure it is a mild hearing loss? If it is you might not have noticed. By the time other people notice the hearing loss in high frequencies is more than mild.

If you have a copy of his audiogram then look to see how many decibels is his hearing loss?
Mild hearing loss: 25 to 40 dB
Moderate hearing loss: 40 to 55 dB
Moderate-to-severe hearing loss: 55 to 70 dB
Severe hearing loss: 70 to 90 dB
Profound loss: 90 dB or more

Costco is really good if you are motivated to wear hearing aids and good with technology in terms of replacing batteries every few days and or recharging them. I took my mother to get hearing aids at Costco several years ago and she only intermittently wore them. The people working there were great, no sales push, and the prices was the really good compared to her audiologist. We all noticed a huge difference when she wore them but she said she found them hard to put in somedays and had trouble remembering to recharge them every night. I really wish we had pushed her more to wear hearing aids because it is a huge risk factor for dementia, which she now has.

Costco however does NOT sell Phonic Lyric hearing aids which are hearing aids that the audiologist inserts and then they stay in for 8 weeks (this can range from 6 weeks to 10 weeks depending on battery life). You cannot tell a person is wearing them since they are inside ear canal. My mother is still vain and loves this about them. She still doesn't want other people to know she wears hearing aids. They don't need to be charged ever or inserted daily. You sleep in them, shower in them, and can do everything in them except swim. I finally got my mom Lyric hearing aids and she loves them. They don't use the latest technology since they are disposable so you can't adjust them or use bluetooth and they are analog not digital. For her they are perfect.

Only about 10 % of audiologist have the training to sell them and they are more expensive than regular hearing aids because you pay a yearly fee. My mom pays $3600 a year. I really think they are totally worth $300 a month for her. I really wish she got them years ago.
https://www.phonak.com/en-us/hearing-devices/hearing-aids/lyric

[Anonymous]

My PCP recommended Costco as they are $1500 vs $6000 in my town. The problem is Costco is 2-1/2 hours from my house.

I ended up buying Eargo's online and I am very happy with them and the ease of the purchase. Hearing test was done via my cell phone. Audiologist is available and free.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:One more thing.

Stay away from rechargeable batteries. They are a pain.

For example, to turn them off (which happens more frequently than you imagine), you have to go put them in the charger. With air-zinc batteries, you just open the battery case.

If you don't put them in the charger correctly at night, the next day is a problem.

If you forget it on a trip, you are out of luck.

If you are out and a battery suddenly dies, that's that.

They may improve things, but right now they are just trouble.

I've had my Eargos with rechargeable batteries for 2 years. I like them.

To turn them off I can push mute on my phone or pull them out of my ear.

I've never had problems with them not charging correctly every night.

My batteries have never suddenly died. It is more of a slow death over months and they sent me a new hearing aid.

If I were to forget them on a trip I'd call EArgo and send me a new charger. You get two things for free over the warranty period.

Overall I've been happy with them.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:One more thing.

Stay away from rechargeable batteries. They are a pain.

For example, to turn them off (which happens more frequently than you imagine), you have to go put them in the charger. With air-zinc batteries, you just open the battery case.

If you don't put them in the charger correctly at night, the next day is a problem.

If you forget it on a trip, you are out of luck.

If you are out and a battery suddenly dies, that's that.

They may improve things, but right now they are just trouble.

Don't agree. The batteries drain very quickly.

How quickly? I have rechargeable and it's a pain to take the charger places and I have to charge overnight every night. Seems like batteries last at least a week.

That said, I do get how the expense of batteries is more expensive than the charger.

I totally don’t agree. I just charge every night. My father is jealous of my rechargeable batteries.

I'm another person with rechargeable. I travel a lot for business. My EArgo charger is tiny and light weight. It is about 1/2 the size of a deck of cards. It is no big deal to bring my Eargo charger when I travel. I charge my cell phone. I charge my laptop.
I charge my kindle.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:
That said, I do get how the expense of batteries is more expensive than the charger.

Hearing aid batteries are very inexpensive. 17 cents each at Costco last time I looked. Figure on somewhere between 2 and 4 batteries per week. Cost of batteries isn’t a reason to get rechargeable aids. Lack of manual dexterity or bad vision are reasons. Rechargeables simply have more to go wrong. You’re dependent on a charger, they sometimes don’t charge for some people, and the rechargeable cells in the aids hold less charge as time goes on.

[Anonymous]

My dad has Costco hearing aids and in addition to price, the benefit is CONVENIENCE. They're at costco at least once a month, so when he has the volume turned all the way up and it's making buzzing noises, he just goes to the counter while they're shopping, and they clean and readjust the hearing aids. He has early dementia, so being able to walk to the counter and talk to someone in person is best. Those people are saints.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Thanks for the info. I will get him an appointment at Costco and go with him (and of course get him a chicken after ).

Hoping that it will work out.

A chicken! That’s funny. I love you can buy hearing aids and a chicken in the same place.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Are you really sure it is a mild hearing loss? If it is you might not have noticed. By the time other people notice the hearing loss in high frequencies is more than mild.

If you have a copy of his audiogram then look to see how many decibels is his hearing loss?
Mild hearing loss: 25 to 40 dB
Moderate hearing loss: 40 to 55 dB
Moderate-to-severe hearing loss: 55 to 70 dB
Severe hearing loss: 70 to 90 dB
Profound loss: 90 dB or more

Costco is really good if you are motivated to wear hearing aids and good with technology in terms of replacing batteries every few days and or recharging them. I took my mother to get hearing aids at Costco several years ago and she only intermittently wore them. The people working there were great, no sales push, and the prices was the really good compared to her audiologist. We all noticed a huge difference when she wore them but she said she found them hard to put in somedays and had trouble remembering to recharge them every night. I really wish we had pushed her more to wear hearing aids because it is a huge risk factor for dementia, which she now has.

Costco however does NOT sell Phonic Lyric hearing aids which are hearing aids that the audiologist inserts and then they stay in for 8 weeks (this can range from 6 weeks to 10 weeks depending on battery life). You cannot tell a person is wearing them since they are inside ear canal. My mother is still vain and loves this about them. She still doesn't want other people to know she wears hearing aids. They don't need to be charged ever or inserted daily. You sleep in them, shower in them, and can do everything in them except swim. I finally got my mom Lyric hearing aids and she loves them. They don't use the latest technology since they are disposable so you can't adjust them or use bluetooth and they are analog not digital. For her they are perfect.

Only about 10 % of audiologist have the training to sell them and they are more expensive than regular hearing aids because you pay a yearly fee. My mom pays $3600 a year. I really think they are totally worth $300 a month for her. I really wish she got them years ago.
https://www.phonak.com/en-us/hearing-devices/hearing-aids/lyric

This is such a puerile, absurd mentality. It's to your benefit if others know you can't hear well. They'll make more of an attempt to make themselves understood. Is your mother a child? WTAF. What a ditz.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:One more thing.

Stay away from rechargeable batteries. They are a pain.

For example, to turn them off (which happens more frequently than you imagine), you have to go put them in the charger. With air-zinc batteries, you just open the battery case.

If you don't put them in the charger correctly at night, the next day is a problem.

If you forget it on a trip, you are out of luck.

If you are out and a battery suddenly dies, that's that.

They may improve things, but right now they are just trouble.

Don't agree. The batteries drain very quickly.

How quickly? I have rechargeable and it's a pain to take the charger places and I have to charge overnight every night. Seems like batteries last at least a week.

That said, I do get how the expense of batteries is more expensive than the charger.

I stream a lot. My batteries last 5 days, easily.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:One more thing.

Stay away from rechargeable batteries. They are a pain.

For example, to turn them off (which happens more frequently than you imagine), you have to go put them in the charger. With air-zinc batteries, you just open the battery case.

If you don't put them in the charger correctly at night, the next day is a problem.

If you forget it on a trip, you are out of luck.

If you are out and a battery suddenly dies, that's that.

They may improve things, but right now they are just trouble.

Don't agree. The batteries drain very quickly.

How quickly? I have rechargeable and it's a pain to take the charger places and I have to charge overnight every night. Seems like batteries last at least a week.

That said, I do get how the expense of batteries is more expensive than the charger.

Buy the batteries at Costco. Cheap as chips and last longer than any I've bought at CVS or the grocery.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My father has had mild hearing loss and refused to get hearing aids. It has gotten worse recently and we talked him into going to an ent to ensure no issues (other than older age hearing loss) and he just went to an audiologist who us recommending he gets a $6,800 pair of hearing aids. It is a 30 day trial, and if does not like can exchange other models they have (not a true free trial) and has a one year warranty.

I was checking with a few friends and all of their parents used Costco and said that the highest price model there is about $2,500, has 180 day return and 3 yr warranty.


We are encouraging him to go to Costco to try theirs out and see and if they don’t work then get the other ones. He does not have a smartphone - so he is not planning on streaming music to them or using to take phone calls.

Price difference is HUGE.

Anyone have experience with the ones Costco sells?

He has a mild loss so maybe it's OK, but basically what Costco sells is utter shit.

You can either spend money on something that works or waste money on something that doesn't.

That said, my Phonak Naida 9s cost me about $5,000 for a pair. And those are top-of-the-line out of Denmark.

You have exactly no idea what you are taking about. Zero.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:One more thing.

Stay away from rechargeable batteries. They are a pain.

For example, to turn them off (which happens more frequently than you imagine), you have to go put them in the charger. With air-zinc batteries, you just open the battery case.

If you don't put them in the charger correctly at night, the next day is a problem.

If you forget it on a trip, you are out of luck.

If you are out and a battery suddenly dies, that's that.

They may improve things, but right now they are just trouble.

Don't agree. The batteries drain very quickly.

How quickly? I have rechargeable and it's a pain to take the charger places and I have to charge overnight every night. Seems like batteries last at least a week.

That said, I do get how the expense of batteries is more expensive than the charger.

I totally don’t agree. I just charge every night. My father is jealous of my rechargeable batteries.

I'm another person with rechargeable. I travel a lot for business. My EArgo charger is tiny and light weight. It is about 1/2 the size of a deck of cards. It is no big deal to bring my Eargo charger when I travel. I charge my cell phone. I charge my laptop.
I charge my kindle.

Eargo is not the same. Eargo are the over-the-counter amplifiers and really don't deserve to be categorized as hearing aids.

[Anonymous]

You can also try Sam's Club and BJ's if it is closer. I'd go for closer as you may need repairs, etc.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Are you really sure it is a mild hearing loss? If it is you might not have noticed. By the time other people notice the hearing loss in high frequencies is more than mild.

If you have a copy of his audiogram then look to see how many decibels is his hearing loss?
Mild hearing loss: 25 to 40 dB
Moderate hearing loss: 40 to 55 dB
Moderate-to-severe hearing loss: 55 to 70 dB
Severe hearing loss: 70 to 90 dB
Profound loss: 90 dB or more

Costco is really good if you are motivated to wear hearing aids and good with technology in terms of replacing batteries every few days and or recharging them. I took my mother to get hearing aids at Costco several years ago and she only intermittently wore them. The people working there were great, no sales push, and the prices was the really good compared to her audiologist. We all noticed a huge difference when she wore them but she said she found them hard to put in somedays and had trouble remembering to recharge them every night. I really wish we had pushed her more to wear hearing aids because it is a huge risk factor for dementia, which she now has.

Costco however does NOT sell Phonic Lyric hearing aids which are hearing aids that the audiologist inserts and then they stay in for 8 weeks (this can range from 6 weeks to 10 weeks depending on battery life). You cannot tell a person is wearing them since they are inside ear canal. My mother is still vain and loves this about them. She still doesn't want other people to know she wears hearing aids. They don't need to be charged ever or inserted daily. You sleep in them, shower in them, and can do everything in them except swim. I finally got my mom Lyric hearing aids and she loves them. They don't use the latest technology since they are disposable so you can't adjust them or use bluetooth and they are analog not digital. For her they are perfect.

Only about 10 % of audiologist have the training to sell them and they are more expensive than regular hearing aids because you pay a yearly fee. My mom pays $3600 a year. I really think they are totally worth $300 a month for her. I really wish she got them years ago.
https://www.phonak.com/en-us/hearing-devices/hearing-aids/lyric

This is such a puerile, absurd mentality. It's to your benefit if others know you can't hear well. They'll make more of an attempt to make themselves understood. Is your mother a child? WTAF. What a ditz.

Too many women feel the same way. When I visit my mother in her independent /assisted living community I notice many men wearing hearing aids but nowhere near as many men. Everyone there can most likely afford hearing aids because it is expensive to live there. Growing up in the time frame these ladies did where appearances were valued it isn’t surprising many women feel that way.


According to the NIH In 2021, among adults aged ≥45 years, men were more likely to use a hearing aid than were women (9.2% versus 5.5%). This pattern was found in all age groups: 3.0% of men versus 1.4% of women among those aged 45–64 years, 12.3% versus 5.7% among those aged 65–74 years, 26.7% versus 13.7% among those aged 75–84 years, and 39.5% versus 31.5% among those aged ≥85 years. Among both men and women, the percentage who use a hearing aid increased with age.

Sources: National Center for Health Statistics, National Health Interview Survey, 2021