I get my hearing aids from the VA and they are state of the art. Lots of old vets need them, one doesn't wear hearing protection in combat. I can tell you that my aids seem wonderful and I've no problems with my first pair and I'm 2 years into my second pair, Swiss made. A buddy of mine got his at Costco because they were quite a bit cheaper. I asked my audio doc about this and she said hearing aid technology keeps advancing at a relatively rapid rate and that those Costco sells are behind some 4 to 5 advances. Who knows? Sometimes we get what we pay for.