I wear Phonak Audeo
I paid around 5K for the pair

I think THE most important issue with hearing aids is the hearing test

Everybody's esrs are different
I may try Costco as mine are getting old

quote:

Originally posted by V-Tail:

quote:

Originally posted by Rey HRH:
Does Costco give hearing tests to see if you could use an aid?

Yes. They do a complete test, no charge.

The audiologist then fit (fitted? What's the past tense?) me with a test pair of hearing aids and told me to wander around the store, do my shopping, etc., and report back to him.

I had a hearing test at Costco in Carson City last summer and asked for a test drive around the store. She told me no test drive, so I didn't buy. I hear ok, but my test showed I needed hearing aids.

quote:

Originally posted by cne32507:

quote:

Originally posted by V-Tail:

quote:

Originally posted by Rey HRH:
Does Costco give hearing tests to see if you could use an aid?

Yes. They do a complete test, no charge.

The audiologist then fit (fitted? What's the past tense?) me with a test pair of hearing aids and told me to wander around the store, do my shopping, etc., and report back to him.

I had a hearing test at Costco in Carson City last summer and asked for a test drive around the store. She told me no test drive, so I didn't buy. I hear ok, but my test showed I needed hearing aids.

Sounds to me like that particular Costco employee was not very accommodating. Either that, or maybe that store had a history of theft? In my case, I did not ask for a "test drive" around the store; the Costco audiologist suggested it. He really wanted me to experience the improved hearing in a real-life situation. Even coupled the hearing aids to my phone and we had a telephone conversation. In my case, the telephone coupler does not do as good a job as I would like, but that's probably due to the nature of my hearing loss.

There's another way around this: Just buy them. You have a return / refund option, no hassle. If memory is correct, it's a 90 day "trial" period, double that when using a Costco citibank VISA. You can just bring them back and get a full refund. You are out nothing. No cost to you, other than the time you invested, and maybe the cost of having your money tied up for that period of time.

Maybe I missed it in the reading, but here is my experience, having had my first hearing aids for about 5 years.
Walking around a store is good to test, but being outside in a wind is different!
The wind can make a lot of difference! Turning your head in head can be unsettling as the wind hits one side of your head and the other is somewhat blocked. Wind from the front and wind from the back is also different.
Be sure to try out your hearing aids outside!

After a lifetime of rock music way too loud and shooting, my ears are... not good. I haven’t had my hearing tested, but I regularly have trouble understanding people in a conversation, especially in a noisy environment (like, sitting in a noisy restaurant).

Are any particular type or hearing aides better for this type of assistance?

They will test your hearing and graph where the loss is. The hearing aids are set to improve the weak areas of your hearing.
I prefer Phonak (flush with the outside ear).
There are generally three styles, outside over the ear, flush with outside (molded), and internal canal.
Manufactures of hearing aids vary somewhat in quality. The more you pay, the better.
Once you do get them, don't get frustrated, it takes some time to get used to them.

This is my test for the VA

I just got a set of the Kirkland (Costco) brand hearing aids in early December. They are awesome. Since we are out of the country, the technician gave me all kinds of extra supplies. A years worth of batteries cost about $50. The hearing aids themselves were $1699 for both. I was told the battery life would be about 3.5 days, but I'm routinely getting 5 days on a set. I don't use the Bluetooth functionality to stream media. The phone app is great to get battery status updates as well as switching audio profiles. Overall, I like them very much. If the tech won't give you a test drive, go to another store. That's ridiculous.