My mother in law has the worst hearing I've been around. Her second husband's isn't much better. They can't understand people at normal audible levels (and I'm loud!). We have two kids, age 1 and 4, and I laugh every time she says "neither one of them made a peep!"

She knows she has bad hearing, but 10ish years ago one of her friends said hearing aids cost $10,000 and insurance doesn't help. Someone told her they tried the Costco ones (less than $500) and said they were awful. She thinks there aren't other options so she won't see a doctor and get an actual estimate.

Can anybody tell me options for her? I hope there's something we can afford to get her.

Go to an audiologist, one with at least a graduate degree (there is a doctorate of audiology degree). My mom is one (has been for 40+ years), and the good ones know what they are doing.

They should not cost $10k...if they did, my mom would probably be out of business. Insurance doesn't cover (unless it's worker's comp), but getting a "one-size fits all" unit from some place like Costco is a waste of money, no matter how much less expensive it seems. There are different types of hearing loss, and the aids need to be configured accordingly.

If the audiologist knows your budget, they should be able to help. If one comes off like a used car salesman, find another.

That's what I figured. ANY idea on a starting price? If it's going to be over $5k it's probably a waste of time. If it's affordable enough we may volunteer to pay for it. She does a lot for us, but I don't think she has any idea how bad it is.

Hearing aides, generally speaking, come in 3 "levels". Absolutely high end runs about $6,000/pair, but you can also get good digital hearing aides for around $2,000 if Bluetooth connectivity, etc., isn't all that big of an issue. Make sure you have her see a licensed AUDIOLOGIST, though, not an oto tech, etc. Costco sells decent hearing aides, but they will employ under qualified people to sell and service them. And hearing aides can require a lot of adjusting.

Yep...everything he said. So much of my mom's business is customer service AFTER the aids have been ordered/initially fitted. She adjusts them, cleans them, changes batteries, etc. All at no additional cost. She wants her patients to be happy and actually WEAR them.

Thanks for y'all's help. Any audiologist you recommend near Carrollton?

I just went through this with my mother in law. All of the advice above is great. I will add that if she has Medicare (I have no idea at what age it starts) and a Supplement/Part C, the part C does cover part of the hearing aid process. Evidently a Bill was passed in 2019 that may lead to Medicare pricing on hearing aids but it had not been signed into law when we were shopping.

Funny you say that, she turns 65 next year so I think Medicare will be an option.

I'm in Houston, and my mom practices in another state. I wish I had a recommendation to give.

My mom does see a fair amount of Medicaid patients. But I can remember her saying in the past that she was having a lot of trouble getting reimbursement. I'm not sure if she even deals with it anymore, and if you can't find a practitioner who does, that might be why.