Hearing Aids

Another thing I'd add is I don't use any kind of 'buds' (besides what goes in my bong!), but I do get custom-molds instead of using the generic domes; only cost about $60 more and well worth it. 

@mahler123 - not all Costcos are the same, as you've found out. Fortunately the one I go to has an audiologist who's been practicing for a few decades, and they've got all the lines and models that are on their website. Looks like your Costco has a dodgy hearing-aids department; if they're not carrying certain lines they should be, you might want to let Costco management know about it. 

Mahler:

We just purchased (4-5 weeks ago) Jabra Enhance Pro 20 Micro aids @ Costco for my wife. 

The Costco is in the Los Angeles area (Los Feliz).

They set them up and have adjusted them once, so far (neither of us have a SmartPhone).

DeKay

The problem is that, aside from Widex, the hearing aid  designers pay no attention at all to the sound of music. As others point out, they are designed only for speech recognition (i.e., focused around  the 2-3 khz region).  One of my friends, who is an engineer who helped design the Lyric, the last great analogue aid (still on the market) confirmed this.  Btw, every other ha on the market is digital.  Most of the advances have been in the software and are focused on noise rejection.

Widex claims that they have improved the latency issue enough that their bte aids are good with music.

   I had Oticon, several generations back, and they were not very good for music.  Sure, snare drums sounded about right again, but the rest of the spectrum was worse.

   Unfortunately, the best aids cost $4-6 k per pair.  Costco's are about 2 levels down from the latest and greatest.

@curiousjim I have found hearing aids help with tinnitus, however not through their tinnitus programs. Some suspect tinnitus is caused by your brain trying to hear ‘better’.
I have pretty constant tinnitus. Many times, my tinnitus goes away with HA use particularly while listening to music.
I then wake up the next morning to tinnitus. Unfortunate, but they can provide temporary relief. YMMV

@lloydc 

so what brands do you recommend for listening to music?

@larsman thats an interesting Costco comment.  I don’t want to cause any issue for the Techs, as I suspect they don’t determine what the store carries, but I will speak to management.

  I have dealt with 2 Audiologists outside of Costco, one of whom is a family friend who works for a private practice , the other at a tertiary care medical center .  They are both in their mid twenties and don’t know diddle about music reproduction.  They both insisted that I buy the hearing aids associated with their practices.  I’d like to find an independent audiologist that gives a hoot about music lovers and who has experience with a variety of different companies.  I could do a Zoom consultation; they could at least see my audiogram and at least discuss different brands.  Heck, considering this is a $5K and up purchase, I could even travel a distance if they are located somewhere worth visiting