Do not overlook Costco, where aids are roughly half the cost they'd be elsewhere. In addition, all adjustment visits are FREE, and any modifications, like better ear pieces, are free, at least within the two-year total warranty period. Their aids have different names, but you can ask the fitter there what they really are. For example, my Bernefon aid is actually an Oticon; Bernefon is the private label name at Costco.

Don't think that you'll be "cheaping out" because some Costco fitters (who are NOT generally audiologists) are extremely well-informed and will work very hard to maximize what you can hear. Don't ever let an audi give you a bad time about "cheap" Costco aids, because that's simply not true. When I went to the CI clinic to be tested, one of the audis there really dissed my $1,400 Costco aid and told me to junk it and buy two $3,000 Phonaks, with charges for each followup visit--but the other audi there (who provides counseling about living with hearing loss) had nothing but praise for Costco.

What you need is a fitter who really wants to do the best he or she can to improve how you hear. The woman I see at Costco has gone out of her way to self-educate about hearing and hearing diseases...and knows more than either of the accredited audis at the CI hearing clinic! I don't think any place offers a more liberal guarantee and return policy than Costco. If you can find a place that will help with cost, cutting the price of the aids in half is another big help.

Labor & delivery 😃