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I just got myself some Costco Signature hearing aids a month ago. Its $1499/pair. Its made by a major manufacturer named Phonak. The feature set is close to the

by pkaye 6y ago

I just got myself some Costco Signature hearing aids a month ago. Its $1499/pair. Its made by a major manufacturer named Phonak. The feature set is close to their top of the line model. Half the cost of the hearing aids in the US is actually the fitting by the audiologist and they have to pay for their expenses. You have to spend considerable time with the audiologist to measure, fit and calibrate the device to your needs. Costco is able to minimize the cost overhead since the office is inside a normal Costco store. The hard part about hearing aids is making them work in noise. You don't want to just amplify everything or you just hear more noise. Also you need to tune it to your hearing loss otherwise you may damage your hearing. They do things like expanding the dynamics or compressing to prevent loud noises. They suppress wind noise. They can focus on the voice of someone in a group of people. So the catch with the cheaper hearing aids is that may not help help your dad with understand speech as well as a better quality one. I'd suggest you watch the videos of Dr Clif Aud on Youtube. He is very informative.

colejohnson66 6y ago
Why are multiple audiologist visits necessary? Can’t they just take a 3d scan of your ear and have a computer decide which shape will fit best? I recall when Apple introduced the EarPods, they said they scanned thousands of ears and derived a shape that would fit the most. So it is possible...
- pkaye 6y ago
  I went with standard domes but it took a second visit to get the size right since they take time to conform to your ears. Custom molds are another option but they told it I would get a more plugged up feeling so I stay with a more open dome unless really needed. Also there is some time for adapting to any changes in settings. They also bump up the gain with each visit to reach target levels. A big jump might be too much. I think there is room for optimizing the whole process but anything medical related tends to move slowly. I still find the phone app a little slow and cumbersome. And switching between bluetooth devices is a pain. I wish Apple and Google would put more effort in improving that aspect.
- volkadav 6y ago
  they have to tune the DSP settings to get the amplification et al. profiles to match the patient's individual hearing loss pattern. that takes custom interface/programmer hardware the manufacturers generally only (afaik) give to licensed audiologists as it takes specialized education to do this work properly. the ear dome/mold bits themselves are a minor component of the overall fitting process. (src: been wearing hearing aids for about thirty years)

by pkaye 6y ago

colejohnson66 6y ago

Why are multiple audiologist visits necessary? Can’t they just take a 3d scan of your ear and have a computer decide which shape will fit best? I recall when Apple introduced the EarPods, they said they scanned thousands of ears and derived a shape that would fit the most. So it is possible...

pkaye 6y ago
I went with standard domes but it took a second visit to get the size right since they take time to conform to your ears. Custom molds are another option but they told it I would get a more plugged up feeling so I stay with a more open dome unless really needed. Also there is some time for adapting to any changes in settings. They also bump up the gain with each visit to reach target levels. A big jump might be too much. I think there is room for optimizing the whole process but anything medical related tends to move slowly. I still find the phone app a little slow and cumbersome. And switching between bluetooth devices is a pain. I wish Apple and Google would put more effort in improving that aspect.
volkadav 6y ago
they have to tune the DSP settings to get the amplification et al. profiles to match the patient's individual hearing loss pattern. that takes custom interface/programmer hardware the manufacturers generally only (afaik) give to licensed audiologists as it takes specialized education to do this work properly. the ear dome/mold bits themselves are a minor component of the overall fitting process. (src: been wearing hearing aids for about thirty years)