Hi, Guys.
I just bought my first pair 3(?) weeks ago. I am trying out the Costco Premium 8.0 hearing aids (made by Resound). I've been back twice to tweak sounds - mostly because of a reverb issue while I'm outdoors. These cost $1599 plus another $300(?) for a wearable microphone, a drying kit, and a Bluetooth transmitter that connects to electronics via RCA connectors. I have not yet tried the transmitter.
So far, I have definitely benefitted from wearing these. My hearing in restaurants, crowded venues, in our house with 20 guests, etc. is much improved. I'm still trying to determine if my music hearing is better or more screwed up. Part of my problem is that I hear differently with the hearing aids, so some sounds are 'weird' now. I say 'weird' because I couldn't hear them before, so my brain needs time to retrain itself.
I'm treating this brain training as if it were a new pair of speakers that require 500 hours to burn in. I'm not rushing it nor am I being too picky with sounds for now. I'm listening mostly in background music mode rather than the sweet spot.
One huge benefit for me is that my right ear is no longer hyper-sensitive to certain sounds. I have what is called 'hyperacusis'. It's a really irritating condition where the brain over-reacts to loud and/or high pitched sounds. Many musicians suffer from hyperacusis. In really bad cases, it can be quite debilitating. I've had this condition for about 3 years now. I've treated it to good effect with pink noise therapy, acupuncture, and Chinese Herbal medicine. My hearing aid helps to block the <potentially> irritating sounds.
I've got something like three months to figure out if these hearing aids are right for me. I can return them for a full refund or exchange them for different models. There is a 'music listening' mode and an 'outdoor music venue' mode, but I haven't tried either more than a couple times. I may go to the lengths that S Clark went, but I'm not in a hurry to do so. I'm seriously considering giving all my headphone/earbuds/headphone amp to my son and his GF because I don't see much need for them anymore as these hearing aids are Bluetooth capable. [No. The hearing aids do not sound as nice as my HD650s.]
I hope this info proves helpful to you (or any interested lurkers).
Michael