Hearing Aid Help

[Moomduck1]

My husband's hearing aids cost a lot. Some was covered by insurance, but we also paid a few thousand. He gets free hearing aid batteries for life included with that. They are very small and fit inside his ear. He was in his late 50s when he got them and these were the best that he could get at the time. It's not like we had that money floating around, but it was very important to us that he hear well and we considered it an important investment. His are also guaranteed. Everyone has to do what's right for them, but this is not something that to just look for the cheapest option.

 

[Earstou]

@Earstou Why did the audiologist aids end up in the drawer? What made the Costco ones better? Was it comfort? function? quality of hearing?
(BTW, @wendow, nearly no insurance plans cover hearings aids.)

We were later told that Dh was sold the wrong type of aide for his type hearing loss. Another audiologist, in the same practice, told us this, but of course no refund or anything. She also said the aide was discontinued before it was sold to us, so was already old technology at a high price. He would get weird sounds out of it and still couldn't hear well. He was told the weird sounds were due to not using an aide for so long, that his brain didn't recognize those sounds, but the Costco aides have no such problems. After that experience, he didn't trust an audiologist. It took me years to get my dh to try HAs again.
I had about 8 years experience with aides from an audiologist before I went to Costco, so I'm not inexperienced or naive. I also had a Beltone HA, which I had to get serviced at a Beltone center after they ended their association with the audiologist. Beltone uses technicians also, and in my experience, I feel Costco provides a much better service than Beltone.
I'm not saying Costco aides are better...I'm saying they are just as good and much cheaper! When I lost my 2 yr old HA from the audiologist, I went to Costco.
TWO new Bluetooth capable HAs, more high tech than my last one, cost LESS than the previous ONE cost!

Since we've gotten our aides 2 years ago, our insurance has started paying some towards HAs, but I don't know what the amount is.

 

[2Kds2K9]

My DH is a Hearing Aid Specialist at Costco and is licensed by our state. The training and testing he went through is the same as any person working at any other hearing aid outlet. In fact, he can work anywhere selling and fitting hearing aids, not just Costco. However, the biggest difference is Costco specialists don't get commission. That's why the prices are so much better. There is no sales quota he needs to meet either. He is paid whether he sells them to you or not, and has no incentive to sell a product that is not right for the patient just to get a bonus for himself. In fact, when someone comes in for testing and needs hearing aids and is not sure about purchasing, he tells them to think about it and come back when they are ready. There is no hard sell at all. Many go out to compare prices and always come back to him to buy.

Costco also sells the latest and greatest hearing aids on the market along with being able to service "older" models.

Another huge benefit is that once you purchase hearing aids at Costco, they can be serviced at any Costco hearing center worldwide. You can't say that when buying from other vendors. Plus, you have the same warranties from the manufacturer and from Costco.

While Costco does not take insurance, they will provide you with all the necessary info for you to file with your insurance.

Yes, they are not doctors, but are required to refer a patient to a doctor if there is an issue beyond their realm. Part of DH's testing was that he must be able to identify ear ailments, but can't diagnose. And they can't work with children.

My advice to anyone thinking they need hearing aids, check out Costco. The free test is the same as that administered by an audiologist. The pricing is hard to beat, and any follow up adjustments are free. With most other hearing aid outlets, if you need an adjustment, you have to pay for an office visit. Also, to those who say they get free batteries for life, batteries are cheap to begin with and really, really cheap at Costco.

Good luck!