Hooked on Costco Hearing Aids
More older adults are becoming aware of their age-related hearing loss (presbycusis)
(This is part of my continuing examination of hearing aids for older adults. I will be making available a downloadable book on the subject in the near future.)
People Are Hooked on Costco Hearing Aids, and This Is Why: Devoted customers come for the free hearing aid cleanings and leave with full carts was just published online by Wall Street Journal’s Julie Jargon, just over an hour ago.
I just recently became interested in Costco hearing aids, offered since 1989, from a Consumer Reports article citing brands with high consumer satisfaction: Notably, Jabra, Philips, and Rexton also earned top marks from our members when it came to value for the money they spent. These also happen to be the three prescription hearing aid brands sold at Costco, which was among the top in our ratings of places to buy hearing aids. (Costco’s Kirkland Signature brand hearing aids earned top marks in earlier versions of our hearing aid brand ratings, but Costco has discontinued the sale of them.)
Jargon makes the point: Affordable prices, a generous return policy and good customer service have spread by word-of-mouth, making Costco the country’s largest dispenser of hearing aids behind the Department of Veterans Affairs.
Bottom Line: Costco offers members (memberships start at $65 a year) products from three major hearing-aid brands (mentioned above), starting at $1,500 a pair. You have up to 180 days to exchange their hearing aids or return them for a full refund. Included is a three-year warranty.
Their hearing specialists will clean and service hearing aids at no charge while customers shop, which Costco claims results in higher renewal rates and spending more with each visit. Another draw are the Kirkland Signature products, some of which are highly rated, and of course there is their loss leader, the rotisserie chicken.
Hearingtracker.com, a website that publishes independent hearing-aid reviews from audiologists cites: Costco’s hearing aid centers have been one of the biggest success stories in the hearing aid industry over the past decade. From 2011 to 2017, sales at Costco hearing centers grew at approximately 20% per year, and Costco has now emerged as the nation's leading hearing aid retailer, making up more than 15% of the US retail market in 2024.