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I feel like a broken record mentioning that Costco sells high quality hearing aids for $700 each. Exams, fittings, adjustments, cleaning, and many repairs are f

I feel like a broken record mentioning that Costco sells high quality hearing aids for $700 each. Exams, fittings, adjustments, cleaning, and many repairs are free so long as you have a Costco membership. No membership is required for the exam. Most people that need hearing aids that live near a Costco could already be saving thousands of dollars.

chrisseaton 4y ago
> I feel like a broken record mentioning that Costco sells high quality hearing aids for $700 each. Are you expecting people to read this and think $700 sounds impressively affordable?
- missedthecue 4y ago
  *Compared to $3k
- andrewxdiamond 4y ago
  It’s quite affordable compared to the regular rates, and quite cheap as far as medical devices go
- analog31 4y ago
  Everybody I know with hearing aids ends up at Costco. My parents have saved probably more than $15k by this point. It's a huge racket. An issue is that hearing aids may still need to be regulated. For instance, it's possible for them to have so much gain and power that they further damage your hearing.
- mgerdts 4y ago
  It’s only an impressively affordable price after you compare to what they cost almost anywhere else. The cheapest hearing aid from the audiologist affiliated with my ENT was about $3500 for a far inferior device. Other audiologists charge for follow up visits and repairs which can run a couple hundred bucks per year. I’ve had a hearing aid wire break. I showed up without an appointment at Costco for a regular shopping trip and the repair was done for free by the time I was ready to check out. Similarly when I’ve needed replace ear domes they did the replacement and a cleaning while I shopped or waited. My previous hearing aid required batteries. They are dirt cheap there too. My current hearing aid is rechargeable so that is no longer an issue.
- ehsankia 4y ago
  Even ignoring the comparison to existing options. 700$ doesn't sound ridiculous if you consider it includes exam, fitting and so on. It's only 2x the price of airpods, which doesn't come with exam or fitting.
- xeromal 4y ago
  How much is someone's hearing worth? I feel like 700$ is a good price for a whole sense.
  - resoluteteeth 4y ago
    > How much is someone's hearing worth? I feel like 700$ is a good price for a whole sense. Not starving is also worth a lot, but that doesn't mean that a hamburger should cost $10,000.
    - mrguyorama 4y ago
      Where do you think you're posting, a socialist forum? This is YC for gods sake, we are here to make an honest to goodness.... absurdly high return on investment by completely monopolizing an industry and spending the rest of your days taking people for all they're worth so they can have a basic life and you can have a third yacht /s
codegeek 4y ago
Yes but the point of this law is it will allow OTC which means it will reduce friction. Exams are still a friction aren't they ?
deleted 4y ago
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chrisseaton 4y ago

> I feel like a broken record mentioning that Costco sells high quality hearing aids for $700 each. Are you expecting people to read this and think $700 sounds impressively affordable?

missedthecue 4y ago
*Compared to $3k
andrewxdiamond 4y ago
It’s quite affordable compared to the regular rates, and quite cheap as far as medical devices go
analog31 4y ago
Everybody I know with hearing aids ends up at Costco. My parents have saved probably more than $15k by this point. It's a huge racket. An issue is that hearing aids may still need to be regulated. For instance, it's possible for them to have so much gain and power that they further damage your hearing.
mgerdts 4y ago
It’s only an impressively affordable price after you compare to what they cost almost anywhere else. The cheapest hearing aid from the audiologist affiliated with my ENT was about $3500 for a far inferior device. Other audiologists charge for follow up visits and repairs which can run a couple hundred bucks per year. I’ve had a hearing aid wire break. I showed up without an appointment at Costco for a regular shopping trip and the repair was done for free by the time I was ready to check out. Similarly when I’ve needed replace ear domes they did the replacement and a cleaning while I shopped or waited. My previous hearing aid required batteries. They are dirt cheap there too. My current hearing aid is rechargeable so that is no longer an issue.
ehsankia 4y ago
Even ignoring the comparison to existing options. 700$ doesn't sound ridiculous if you consider it includes exam, fitting and so on. It's only 2x the price of airpods, which doesn't come with exam or fitting.
xeromal 4y ago
How much is someone's hearing worth? I feel like 700$ is a good price for a whole sense.
- resoluteteeth 4y ago
  > How much is someone's hearing worth? I feel like 700$ is a good price for a whole sense. Not starving is also worth a lot, but that doesn't mean that a hamburger should cost $10,000.
  - mrguyorama 4y ago
    Where do you think you're posting, a socialist forum? This is YC for gods sake, we are here to make an honest to goodness.... absurdly high return on investment by completely monopolizing an industry and spending the rest of your days taking people for all they're worth so they can have a basic life and you can have a third yacht /s

codegeek 4y ago

Yes but the point of this law is it will allow OTC which means it will reduce friction. Exams are still a friction aren't they ?

deleted 4y ago

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