It’s no secret that better hearing requires an investment. Choosing where to go and, more importantly, who to trust for the best solution to your unique hearing care needs is a challenge.
Several big-box stores and shopping clubs, like Costco, provide a competitive alternative to the traditional hearing care provided by Doctors of Audiology. Consequently, we are often asked:
“What’s the difference between getting my hearing aids from Costco and getting them from Port Credit Audiology & Hearing Aid Clinic?”
In order to be as transparent as possible, our goal with this month’s blog post is to provide an objective comparison of what Costco offers and what is available at our clinic.
However, there are a few things that you need to understand before an accurate comparison can be made.
Hearing Aids vs. Hearing Care
Let’s start with an example:
All ducks are birds, but not all birds are ducks. Essentially, you are correct to point at a duck and call it a bird, but it is not correct to point at a robin and call it a duck, though both are birds.
In the same manner, hearing aids are an essential tool in providing hearing care, but hearing aids are not equivalent to hearing care.
Hearing care is an overall approach to addressing your hearing loss challenges in such a way as to help you achieve your goal of better hearing. Hearing aids might be used in hearing care, but they are only one part of what is involved in the process of providing hearing care.
Unfortunately, the primary narrative is that hearing aids are the solution to hearing loss when, in fact, what many who experience a hearing loss need is a combination of great hearing technology and the specialized training of a hearing care professional to achieve long-term results.
This is where there is a significant difference between working with Costco versus working with a trusted independent hearing care professional, like the team at Port Credit Audiology & Hearing Aid Clinic.
The Devil Is in the Details
A proper comparison between Costco and Port Credit Audiology, requires an examination of the better hearing solutions offered to you by each.
Hearing Assessments
Costco offers free hearing tests to determine if a hearing aid is right for you. From the start, the objective of the testing is to determine if you have a hearing loss with the assumption that if hearing challenges are found, then you will need to purchase a hearing aid.
Basically, the objective of the testing is to sell a hearing aid.
In contrast, a comprehensive hearing assessment at Port Credit Audiology reviews all areas of your hearing health to pinpoint the exact cause of your hearing loss. Our assessment includes:
- A look inside your ears using video otoscopy to see if you have wax buildup or some other type of obstruction in the ear canal, conditions that are not helped by hearing aids
- Tympanometry to determine the health of your eardrum and middle ear, which may lead to treatments that do not include the use of hearing aids
- Additional testing to determine whether your hearing loss is an obstructive hearing loss, which is not helped by hearing aids, or sensorineural hearing loss, which commonly leads to treatment using hearing aids
- Advanced testing, such as speech-in-noise testing, to better understand your real-world complaints and how to improve your listening challenges
Bottom Line: Our comprehensive hearing assessment is an objective examination that does not begin with the assumption that you will need hearing aids.
Warranty and Support
Your warranty provides you with the peace of mind that if your hearing aids are lost, broken, or damaged, the manufacturer will cover the costs of replacement or repair.
Port Credit Audiology offers up to four years of warranty covering any repair needs. Should you lose or damage your device beyond repair, you are quickly fitted with what we call a “loaner,” which is like having a hire/courtesy car if your car needs repair work. This loaner is yours until we fit you with your replacement device.
At Costco, you’ll be covered with a three-year Repair Warranty and two-year Loss & Damage Replacement Insurance. Should you experience these problems, it’s likely you will have to submit a warranty claim yourself and then wait for repair and/or replacement without the use of any devices in the interim.
Bottom Line: We want to make sure you don’t ever have to experience any of the challenges of hearing loss again simply because your device isn’t working right.
Ongoing Service
You’ve heard the saying “It’s the journey, not the destination, that counts.”
Achieving better hearing is a journey rather than a destination. On that journey, we provide regular appointments, visits, adjustments, and support – key elements in providing the unique solutions that help you achieve your objective. More importantly, appointments are available quickly if issues come up in the interim, meaning you avoid any downtime in your better hearing journey.
We like to see you at least every six months to help you care for your hearing devices and regularly reassess your hearing to make any necessary adjustments.
At Costco, they’ll be on hand to support you if you have any questions/queries, but they will take a less proactive approach to ensuring that all of your hearing care needs are met and your devices are performing their best.
Bottom Line: We are here to meet all of your hearing care needs rather than sell you a hearing aid.
The Amount You Invest
The amount you invest is where many people get pulled over to Costco.
Costco has built a reputation for passing trade prices on to their customers. Their Kirkland-branded hearing devices are competitively priced, usually costing less than most of the hearing care packages available through independent clinics like Port Credit Audiology & Hearing Aid Clinic.
Unfortunately, most people don’t understand that you’re not getting an apples-to-apples comparison of technology and hearing care services.
Although Costco’s prices tend to be lower, they do come with a compromise – more times than not, your hearing aids will be locked, which means that no other provider can make any adjustments to them. Adjustments can only be made by visiting a Costco store.
Bottom Line: If your only motivation is price, then Costco is likely the right option for you, but if you value the training and professionalism of a Doctor of Audiology, high levels of care, and a VIP experience working toward a better outcome, then we’re your best option.
Take Your First Step on the Journey to Better Hearing
Whether you decide to start your journey with Port Credit Audiology & Hearing Aid Clinic or Costco, taking your first step on the journey to better hearing is the most important part of addressing your hearing challenges.
If you’re experiencing a hearing loss, reach out for help by scheduling a comprehensive hearing test that provides a complete picture of your hearing challenges, and then make an informed decision to go with the provider that will provide the better-hearing outcomes that best fit your unique needs and circumstances.
Our track record of helping thousands of people in our area achieve better hearing proves that the most effective approach to overcoming your hearing challenges is working with a team of hearing care professionals rather than just buying a set of hearing aids.
If you have any questions or if we can help you in any way, then contact us by clicking here to schedule an appointment, or call us at (905) 990-3755
