How do over-the-counter (OTC) hearing aids compare to prescription hearing aids?

I purchased Costco brand just over 6 years ago. Had several adjustments and saw little benefit so gradually quit using them. Used True Hearing through my insurance, paid $800 for a pair of rechargeable units and have had them over 6 months now, use them daily. Much more satisfied that I ever was with the $1500 Costco units

Do you use the Phonak app? I can adjust to different programs on my phone depending on what I am doing AND I can make my own. I want to turn the volume of my hearing aids down when I blast music to the outside world in my car. I LOVE them! This is my 2nd pair and I chose Phonak because of the app.

Mine is a question rather than a comment.... I have Oticons but am most interested in the potential for using Shokz (or other) bone conduction earphones. But I don't understand how these can be used for speech; I thought they only worked with music. Do you use a microphone to pick up speech (and music, come to that) plus an amp of some sort that transmits the result to the earphones?

Because of price gouging over the last MANY years, audiologists have no one to blame but themselves for the surge in OTC products. For the majority of those with hearing deficits, OTC hearing aids provide a solution never before made available to them.

Valid perspective, but what about those of us with mild hearing loss? My last audiology report showed my loss was too slight for prescription hearing aids to be prescribed, but it was bothering me in day to day life. I'm aware of the literature showing that even slight hearing loss can have a detrimental effect on brain function and I didn't want to wait until I "qualified for prescription hearing aids) has made a noticeable difference in quality of life. I also noticed wearing them seemed to correlate to fewer word finding problems for me. The improvement in both hearing and word-finding has been noticed by my family too.
I do fine with these on the phone, and also with over the ear headsets for Zoom calls.
I'm due for another hearing test and perhaps I'll qualify for a audiologist-fitted prescription hearing aid. But for now, I'm sticking with my OTC Eargo 6 hearing aids. I have no financial interest with the brand or competing interest in another brand. I'm mentioning it here because it was helpful to me to read real-life experiences when I was making up my mind about OTC aids. There is very good phone support for them, some customizability via a phone app, and the ability to program them for my hearing profile with an online audiologist at the company.

I get very good service from Costco before, during, and after the sale.

I purchased a hearing aid at Costco and I thought the service has been great. The hearing aid itself has been helpful and I'm glad to have it. It was only $800, which to me is still expensive, but I only needed one.

I totally agree that the before and after sales service at Costco was excellent. I have had one of their hearing aids for three years, and Costco still has excellent service.

My husband went to an audiologist and was quoted almost $6000 - and nothing is covered by our insurance. Sometimes when we’re not rich, we have to make do. And the pair he got from Amazon for $70 is helping tremendously.

I agree with Ronald ... I've gotten very good service from Costco before, during, and after the sale. I've bought from them for many years. They have better knowledge and service than the current hearing specialist/broker I'm using. My current insurance would only allow me to go to a broker and not Costco. Plus their prices for molds are much better and I get free tubes when needed, unlike when I had to deal with traditional hearing aid sellers.

I had two sets of hearing aids from a licensed audiologist. They worked great. I then went to costco for my 3rd set. Equal service and much better pricing and all followup adjustments are free as are all supplies except batteries. Got same brand i had from audiologist, Phonak. Event the testing and equipment used was the same

Eargo hearing aids are great. Invisible, rechargeable, 1% distortion (Consumer Reports), excellent service

Your comments about Costco do not describe my experience — post sale they were very helpful in fine tuning the devices to my particular needs

I have had a pair of Phonak Audeo P90-R for almost 3 years. The app is great. Software updates every year - this has improved both TV and particularly Restaurant hearing. Fitted in Australia by a company called Spec Savers. $5,500 (Aus) including recharge unit, Very happy.

You could have the wrong brand for your needs. Costco gives a 90-day window of return where my new specialist broker only gave me 30 or 45 days, I don't recall.

If there is noticeable change in your word recognition scores you may need a more diagnostic exam. I would suggest you visit a licensed audiologist for more diagnostic
testing. You may need a medical referral after that based on those results. I am an audiologist that works with a medical team.

From your comments about what the hearing aid dealer told you, it sounds as though you have aural dyslexia...I'm not a hearing professional, I taught foreign languages for 22 years and found that some people could not hear words/sounds in the proper order. I believe there is some literature on this subject somewhere. Wish I could quote a source for you.

Hearing aids through Costco can be pretty good devices. HOWEVER, hearing aids need to be programmed to the patient’s hearing loss, determined by a series of hearing tests performed by the Costco employee. I’ve heard there are widely different experience and competency levels between different Costco personnel, so it’s sort of a crapshoot situation for the customer. Potential Costco customers should be very cautious and skeptical.

I have Menieres Disease. I have hearing loss due to tinnitus. I purchased mine from Sam’s Club. Initially, the woman who sold me didn’t have a clue what she was doing. She fitted me for two (found out later I only needed one) & all she did was amplify sounds. It did nothing for clarification. Two hearing aids were close to $3,000. After 5 months of trying to get adequate programming, I spoke to another person in the office who had extensive training & knowledge. He made several recommendations one being, getting a refund for one hearing aid. I had to speak to their main office. With this young man’s recommendation, they issued the refund. Most importantly, I finally have a hearing that actually helps. So I agree, going to Costco or Sam’s, you need to make sure they are experienced & well trained. It’s a crapshoot. They do give you 6 months to decide if it’s going to work for you with a full refund.

I have two Oticon hearing aids that cost around $2,000 each over 12 years ago. They were fitted by an excellent audiologist. I had my hearing re-tested and the hearing aids cleaned and adjusted before I moved. He even gave me some data sheets to take to an audiologist here when I needed them readjusted. I haven’t done that since I’m retired and no longer need them in meetings. I only wear them to watch television when there are a lot of soft, women’s voices, or if I want to watch TV late at night and my husband has gone to bed and I think that the TV in the next room might be a bother. I turn the TV down and put in my hearing aids. I should probably have them adjusted again but they are still working okay enough for me. I agree that a good audiologist and someone who works with the brand you buy, is important. I chose the brand oticon after research and then chose the audiologist who specialized in using them.

I have no financial interest in Oticon. When I bought these, I bought one hearing aid at the end of one year where I worked, and the second one at the beginning of the next year so that I could use HSA money.

My husband had oticon hearing aids for over $3,000 and they never got the adjustments right. He was tested, fitted, and they were adjusted at a teaching college where they are teaching students, so you would think they'd know what they're doing. I'll need them soon and I'm planning to go to Costco since I've heard such great feedback from people.

Good to know! Thanks!

Did that as well & totally agree with you! Cosco is the way to go for hearing aids!

I guess quality has gone down since then. Both my parents bought hearing aids at Costco. Both sets completely stopped working within a month of the warranty expiring. Even when they were working my parents were not satisfied with them, so over $4000 wasted. Disclaimer: I have no financial interest in this or any competing product.

Ditto! Have had only the best in service and hearing products for 14 years from Costco.

Costco has been exceptional with service. My wife raves over them, wears them except sleeping and about $1,700 for the pair. The technical person was exceptional. They are about 5 years old and still great.
Several of our friends do not wear their hearing aids from other locations because of noises and fit and we converted a couple of them with good results.
OTC hearing aids have their place when $1,700 is too expensive.

How is it on the cell phone?

Your audiologist should have adjusted the automatic gain control to prevent the sound from getting too loud. This is part of the "hearing aid fitting" process. You may want to look into going to the audiology clinic of your local university or hearing and speech agency where they teach audiology or have an audiology clinic. I have worn hearing aids for about 52 years, starting when I was about 9 years old. It takes a while to adjust to hearing again after not hearing for a while. Every time I got a new hearing aid or had one fixed or adjusted it took me about 1-2 weeks to get used to hearing things I had not heard in a while. I would get a headache for a few days. I called it "charlie horse of my brain" getting used to hearing new sounds. However, the sound should not be painful. You may be able to take your current hearing aids to a clinic at a university or hospital and a new audiologist may be able to adjust the sound so you are not experiencing discomfort. Or a new audiologist where you bought them may be able to adjust your current aids. It is great to know that lower priced personal sound amplification products (PSAPs) like the ones rated here are now available. This is a great service to the very many people who now need or will need a device to help them hear. If you have more than a moderate hearing loss, I think you will need to visit an audiologist. The PSAPs now becoming available for sale work for mild to moderate hearing loss. Hearing is important to maintain contact with your world and to avoid loneliness and feelings of isolation. I hope you do well.

When you get a hearing aid, make sure the audiologist includes a telecom in your hearing aid. This will help you hear so much better on the telephone and with using many of the assistive listening devices available today. Also ask about Bluetooth capability.

I went back weekly until the settings were right for me. I have 3 programs on mine all I have to do is hold down the little "TRIGGER" on one of them and it changes both. The brand is Liberty Hearing Aids from Sams Club and the audiologist is great. Any time I have a problem or just questions I go in and they take care of me.

I, too, have the same problem with even the slightest background sounds. I think the term 'Hearing AID" means that they only AID in hearing. Far from replacing the lost hearing. I've had three different HA's over the past 9 years and they may add some new tricks like smartphone control but none are any better at solving my basic hearing loss- that is identifying the words.

I am curious about the MD Hearing Aid and wonder what the reviews are on it,

Thank you,

louiseCF226@gmail.com

Thanks for such a good comment. Could you say what you ended up with that worked so well for you?

I would be interested also with which hearing aids you ended up with?

I agree with the comments on being in a barrel even with costly hearing aides. David failed to tell us which hearing aide helped. Could he please tell us?

I too would like to know what brand/model you went with. Thanks.

Yes, please tell us what brand you use, David! Thanks!