Yes, my most common use case for hearing aids is not being able to hear friends/family/colleages at work… It’s instead functioning like earbuds to wirelessly pass sound from phone to my ears. When walking or hiking, I use my hearing aids’ wireless bluetooth to listen to audiobooks, podcasts, music, phone calls, etc. I haven’t used earbuds, but I expect hearing aids would be superior and offer additional features beyond earbuds. For example, hearing aids can be tuned to turn off external sounds of cars/traffic while listening to audiobooks/podcasts, and can be molded to shape of ears for more comfort.
I’m not a fan of rechargeable. I instead prefer ones where I can keep a small battery in my pocket, then swap it out if they run low and have hearing restored in matter of seconds, rather than have to wait hours to charge them up and carry around charging cables+box while traveling. I’m not looking forward to when I need to replace my current Costco KS9s, as I expect it will be harder to find ones that use batteries instead of charging. Costco’s attempt at rechargeable KS10s had enough issues to kill the entire Costco line, so there have been no more KS series hearing aids since 2021. My 2020 KS9s are still working nearly as well as they did at time of purchase, 6 years later.
My folks did better with rechargeable because manipulating the tiny batteries was difficult for them and dad only barely remembered to change his batteries and never changed mom’s. With the rechargeable, when you put them in the charger overnight, they’re find all day. The one hard part was remembering to turn them ON—they don’t automatically turn ON when you take them out of the charger & put them in your ears.
We never tried getting hearing aids from a private audiologist but were very pleased with Costco. They gave us the paperwork and we filed and got partial reimbursement from insurer (I believe 30% or something, every 5 years).
180 days (not quite 6 months) return policy is standard. Loss and damage policy varies, so good to confirm at specific Costco. I believe the most standard is 2 years 100% coverage of loss and damage. This includes replacement if you lose it, replacement if your dog chews it up, replacement if you jump in a pool with your hearing aids on, etc. However, it’s my understanding you only get one full replace/loss.
My specific Costco had a 3 year loss and damage policy, but the policy only covered return on loss for 1 of the pair (not standard policy). When the 3 years deadline was approaching, my audiologist suggested proactively having all the internal components replaced, so it would last longer, which I did. As I noted in a different thread, I broke the mold part that goes within the ear last month, nearly 6 years after purchase. It cost ~$50 to replace, and I could do so without an active membership.
Like most other things sold at Coscto, Costco warranty and return policy is among the best in the industry. However, as has been noted, any quality audiologist should also support returns with 100% refund. For example, Sonus has a 75-day risk-free trial, during which item can be returned for 100% refund, for any reason. My state (CA) sets a mandatory 45 day minimum return period on hearing aids for all sellers.
I have worn hearing aids for 2 yrs. They were prescribed and fitted by my audiologists. My hearing loss ranges from mild to moderate and I purchased the Phonak Audeo Sphere. The HA were returnable up to 8 wks for a full refund. The purchase prices included unlimited visits for adjustments, supplies, insurance and yearly maintenance. (It did take 2 additional visits ).
Because I still had hearing, I did not need fitted molds, which are recommended for more severe loss, different size domes are available. The HAs come in various colors ( I matched my hair color), and I will say when my hair is pulled up in a pony you can see the part behind ears, and I do notice HA on men with short hair. I also wear glasses with no issue, but do look for frames with thin arms. This model is rechargeable , love it and the Bluetooth connectivity.
It did take a couple of weeks to get use to wearing them, but now I can understand my soft spoken friends in the group conversations, my grandchildren and the clerks behind the deli counter! Wedding receptions with loud music and noisy restaurants still present a bit of a problem, but not like before HAs.
You all are so helpful sharing experiences and knowledge. I need to inquire more details from H and prod him on next steps - 1) first insurance! 2) schedule an appointment or message via mychart with the audiologist about her recommendations and 3) talk to Costco about their offerings and process.
Another side of all this to talk to your husband about is the link between hearing loss and dementia and cognitive impairments. Missing gaps in language and conversations with others frequently is a path to feeling isolated and disconnected.
Additionally, a person with hearing loss is not only missing what other people are saying, they are also missing the everyday noises in their environment, and it is hypothesized that the brain is thus not consistently “exercising” by interpreting these environmental sounds.
This is why it’s also essential for people who use hearing aids, to wear them from morning through bedtime, rather than only putting them in when they will be speaking with others. The brain benefits from needing to do the work of interpreting sounds, as well as language.
Regarding connection between dementia and cognitive loss, studies are inconsistent and several different mechanisms have been proposed. For example, the study discussed at Hearing aids slow cognitive decline in people at high risk | National Institutes of Health (NIH) found no statistically significant difference in rate of cognitive decline in the general population with hearing loss group between persons who received hearing aids and those that did not.
However, when they controlled for just including persons at high risk of dementia, there was a substantial difference, with 50% reduction in rate of further cognitive decline among the hearing aid intervention group. These “high risk” symptoms include things like already showing faster than normal signs of cognitive decline. The hearing aid intervention may have slowed rate of the already present cognitive decline. The 3 mechanisms I’ve seen most often proposed for this effect are:
Reduced Cognitive Load – With fewer brain resources focused on getting by with inadequate hearing, more resources can be focused on thinking, memory, and other cognitive functions.
Brain Atrophy – Use it or lose it. Atrophy of not well used brain structures related to hearing also impacts other brain functions.
Social Isolation / Depression – Being unable to hear well contributes to becoming increasingly socially isolated, which has been well demonstrated to increase both dementia and cognitive decline risk.
Which of these mechanisms is most influential depends on how effective hearing aids may be in reducing risk factors and whether there notable benefit from wearing all day vs just wearing portion of day.
I’ve had hearing aids via Costco twice. But recently I participated in a study for Samsung for OTC aids. I found them to be much more effective than the Costco ones with a little piece in the ear connected to a piece over the top of the ear. They resembled Apple earpods more than anything else I could describe. Since I had to give them back at the end of the study, I will probably buy the Apple ones which can be tuned as hearing aids. I have mild impairment in one ear and moderate in the other per the audiologist in the study and the Costco tech.
I bought H the ipods that were supposed to be akin to hearing aids but he HATED then as they emitted a high pitched sound randomly and he insisted we return them. Some other users complained about that as well.
H got his first HAs in 2017 a Phonak from Costco. They were the most expensive ones they sold and were about $2600. He has moderate to severe hearing loss. Our FEP BC/BS paid $2500. Prior to that he had hearing tests from an ENT recommended audiologist. He felt that the Costco evaluation was much better than his audiologist evaluation. The Phonak (Swiss) was sold all over Europe at the time and had replaceable batteries.
This year H got new ones at Costco that were also the most expensive ones from the Phonak company -Sennheiser Sonite that have rechargeable batteries. They were $1600 and this time the insurance required prior approval but paid it all ($2500 allowed). The hearing aids have improved through the years and the rechargeable feature is great. He wears glasses and that is not a problem. Also wears them skiing. There are times when he just doesn’t wear them after his initial daily use. He wears them when we leave the house and he has no trouble doing that.
It is my understanding that the VA (veterans affairs) are some of the best there is and second is Costco. The Costco evaluation is free with membership and there is no commission. We have referred several people we know to them for evals and eventual hearing aids with good results. When the time comes for me, that’s where I will be going.
The introduction to those OTC hearing aids IS a benefit for some people. But as I mentioned above, they amplify everything. They are not frequency specific to one’s hearing loss. The examples I can give is…you are talking to a friend, and all is going well. The door to the room gets slammed. That door slamming gets amplified…and it can be quite loud (and annoying). Or you are in a restaurant, and the conversations at adjoining tables, and background music are amplified as much as the conversation you are trying to have with a friend.
These OTC aids work for some people. But they don’t work for everyone. Let your audiologist make a recommendation…and ask why. They should be able and willing to tell you.
I just took my dad for hearing aids - we pick them up in a week or two.
After the eval, the guy was showing us 3 different levels and I was like “can we just get the best ones?” lol. He actually recommended the mid-model for the types of scenarios my dad is usually in. But…my dad has 2 months to try them out and can upgrade the to the higher level ones.
Annoying note: by dad lives at an Erickson retirement community (2,000 residents). Yet the audiologist there doesn’t not take Erickson Advantage Medical Plan. It would have been like $6k or $8k (I can’t remember). While dad has the money, it just seemed stupid to spend that when he would spend $1k or $2,400 where I took him (because they take his insurance).
And I will add…the OTC aids are not something that benefits some folks at all.
That’s why I strongly suggest working with a dispensing audiologist. These are the folks who can read your audiogram, and make appropriate recommendations.
It is very, very important to work with an audiologist. Thumper is right about OTC hearing aids- they are not for everybody, everything gets amplified as they are not tuned to your specific loss, etc.
My brother bought some cheap over the counter devices that were SUPPOSED to be amplifiers but didn’t do anything (I tried them on). I took my folks to Costco and got them a prior generation of hearing aids and 5 years later both them the newer generation ones. They were good about checking and reprogramming as appropriate and cleaning + changing the parts that go into the ear.
There used to be a charity that accepts all hearing aids, working or not working. I sent them the one hearing aid that won’t hold a charge. I was supposed to receive a receipt back but never did—oh well. I wanted to donate to a place that would repair & give them to folks in need and this org does.
My mom worked with an audiologist to get hearing aids and they were great, all subsequent visits for adjustment were free and they would also clean her ears which I had been taking her to an ENT Dr. before to get that done. They had a 4 month trial period. As it turns out she passed away just before the 4 month trial ended and we could have returned them for a full refund but elected to give them back and they would donate them.
On another note, my Dad tried hearing aids once, got the cheapest ones he could find so he declared that they don’t work and would never try again much to our whole family’s frustration as it became impossible to ever have a real conversation with him again.