Anonymous wrote:My mom's fancy ones connect to her

...iphone by Bluetooth. So she can use her phone for calls and listening to streamed videos.

My mom's fancy ones connect to herns

I used Costco for my mom and they were good about following up. I have mild to moderate hearing loss and will go to Costco.

OP, I'm in the middle of this myself (long story, but I have mod-severe loss in one ear and mild in other) and I was also quoted 6K for a pair from the audiologist.

I went to Sams Club hearing, and can get a pair with current technology for under 2k. You can look at all their hearing aids online. I've heard good things about Costco also (not local to me).

I've gotten good information from various hearing forums (didn't join, just read) and reddit has a HA forum also. Just know-hearing aids are marketed sort of like a racket! Meaning, (at least in the US) there are only a few manufacturers and they make the same HA's under different labels and price points.

The things is that a large percentage of people who get hearing aids actually never consistently wear them. They aren't like glasses where you put them on and instantaneously see better. You have to get used to them.

My hearing is so bad I immediately noticed the great improvement from using a hearing aid. Life changing. Hate being without them.

Just make sure they work for you. My mil got hers at Costco, some cheaper ones. They do not work well and it's awful because it's really affected her ability to enjoy herself socially.

My insurance doesn’t cover much at all. I’ll try Costco. Thanks all.

Rechargeable ones are much more convenient than the ones where you need to change batteries imho.

Also you may want to start with AirPods that double as hearing aids. And finally, a somewhat morbid tip - if you lose your job, go on Medicaid and get hearing aids for free, then go back to work.

How much are you covered with insurance? I have a mild hearing loss and my insurance will cover 80% so I went to an audiologist that dispenses hearing aids. The cost was $6,000 for one of the most expensive Phonak models. So I paid $1200.

I could have gotten hearing aids (but not the top of the line kind) from Costco for around $1400-1700 dispensed by an hearing aid tech (not the same as an audiologist). It varies by state the requirements to dispense hearing aids at Costco. Some actually are audiologist the that have at least Masters Degrees but some have a high school diploma and around 6-9 months of courses, then on the job training.

Who diagnosed your hearing loss? The first thing I did was to get a free hearing test at Costco then they let you try on hearing aids to wear in the store. I wanted more information and service so I then went to an audiologist's office. Now that I have experience wearing hearing aids, I might go and get my next pair at Costco.

The things is that a large percentage of people who get hearing aids actually never consistently wear them. They aren't like glasses where you put them on and instantaneously see better. You have to get used to them.

You can visit Costco for more affordable options. Just make sure they will include a free trial and allow you to come in for free adjustments. It can take many visits to get the programming tweaked. I used an audiologist outside of Costco. My purchase allowed a 30 day trial and during that trial I saw the audiologist a few times to make adjustments. I trialed different brands but preferred Phonak. It’s important to recognize that it takes time to adjust to a hearing aid. I only could tolerate an hour at a time at first and worked my way up to all day.

100% go to Costco. They are literally identical to what you will get at the audiologist at half the price

(mean in practice)

Some audiologists will let you wear them and see how they feel. An important reason to use an audiologist is that with the better hearing aids they can adjust the hearing aid to your specific needs. For example, I have trouble hearing in the low end of the audible spectrum, and they tuned my hearing aid to increase the audibility of those tones but not everything else that I was hearing just fine.

Last summer, my regular hearing aid conked out because the battery died, and I was on travel. I went to Walmart and got a cheap hearing aid that cost about $100. It really wasn’t very good - better than nothing, but still far inferior to my Oticon.

Another thing is that hearing aid technology is advancing fast. A new generation comes out every two years or so. They say the newer hearing aids will incorporate artificial intelligence, but I’m not really sure what that will been in practice.

They cost too much!

It’s nice if you can test them out. I did not like Oticons but did like Phonak.

Costco has less expensive ones. I’d suggest getting a bearing test with someone there. Make sure they are an audiologist.

Found out I have mild to moderate hearing loss and need a hearing aid. If I get one thru my doctor's office, even with insurance, it could still be 4k. Sams has some for 2k. And then there are over the counter ones for less than 1k. How does one choose? Thanks.