William of Frisco, TX on Aug. 30, 2016
I am a 74 yr old 3 time buyer of hearing aids (over 10 yrs) and a retired hospital CEO. I think I know something about medical professionals and value for your dollar. I purchased 1 from a private practice audiologist and two from Costco. I rate my experience from Costco a 5 and from the private practice a 3. When you look at product technology, prices, trial periods, warranty and going the extra mile to get the job done, I rate Costco (Frisco, Tx, Plano, Tx, and Gypsum, Co - where I have a second home) as excellent!!!
I am on the latest generation Blue Tooth & wireless controls. While my baseline hearing has gone down (based on unassisted hearing tests) the quality of the product has gone up. I am literally staying even to a slight improvement in my overall hearing and speech recognition. I paid $7,625 to the private audiologist and less than $3,000 for the two upgrades at Costco. Costco products have the same specs and manufactures and are branded differently so the private practice guys don’t get upset with the manufactures selling them to Costco cheaper.
All of us consumers need to be more market based purchasers and not let the medical cartel convince us there is some mystic in some of the basic products and services we need in our day to day lives!! I am a two time cancer survivor and would definitely recommend going to a tertiary treatment center for something like that, but hearing aids???