My father has a severe to profound hearing loss and we are looking for the first hearing aids. We went to Costoco and tried Bernafon Xtreme 120 and a Kirkland model (not the most powerful one due to no stock), without customized earmold, but my father couldn't tell what I were saying unless I speak very slowly and the distortion is quite significant. He did try a Siemens hearing aids at another place a few months ago and that roughly works for him, but isn't Kirkland the same as Siemens?
We also went to an audiologist and he did an audiogram and a speech recognition test (which we didn't do at Costco). My father's left ear is 60% recognition at 105 dB and right ear is 20% at 105 dB. The audiologist recommended Phonak S UP and Oticon Sumo (both are basic version), at a much higher price (+80%) than the Bernafon Xtreme and Kirkland Signature we saw at Costco. And there is a restocking/service fee if we return the hearing aids. Interestingly I was told that they charge the hearings aids not by brand, but by the level of technology: basic, middle and advanced. All brands at the same level are charged the same price. We didn't get a chance to try the hearing aids as purchase is required first.
From what my visits to Costco and the audiologist, my understanding now is that every brand has a high power BTE plus earmold that may work for my father's case. If this is correct, I would rather go to Costco again and give a try on either Bernafon Xtreme or Kirkland Signature. Our last Costco visit is disappointing as my father couldn't recognize words when trying those hearing aids without earmold, but today's speech recognition test gives me confidence that when the voice is amplified enough he can still recognize some words. I was told that Bernafon Xtreme's residual amplification is a little better than Kirkland Signature, although Bernafon is actually a little cheaper at Costco (but Bernafon has fewer features than Kirkland). Is my understanding correct? Which one should we buy, Bernafon or Kirkland?
Another question is after we receive the hearing aids, does Costco specialist needs to adjust the amplifications on different frequencies or simply pick one of the preprogrammed settings in the hearing aids?
Audiogram:
Hz...250....500....1k.....2k......4k......8k
L......80.....80.....75.....80....110....120
R......95.....90.....85.....95....120....120