What are the best settings for the Kirkland 5.0 aids. My loss is in the high frequencies and I just got them today. I struggle in crowds and background noise.
I hope to see you get some experienced answers, I am yet to make my first visit to Costco for a check… the Signature 5.0 is what I have my “eye” on. I see in the advertisement material that Sig 5 has “Directional Options” that should make it possible to hear better in noisy environments.
My nearest Costco (over 25 miles) has a small hearing aid counter/area. The hearing center is a small fraction of the size of the same store’s optical center. Is your Costco hearing center also a “small” operation? I’ll estimate “my” store has no more than 12" width of counter space and no more than 20’ of total width by perhaps 10’ depth. My appointment is Friday, so I’ll find out how they handle the testing then… the center has a sound booth which takes up much of the space behind the display counter.
First, to the original poster, you should be consulting with the dispenser at Costco about this - the aids are setup according to your audiogram. If you are unhappy about the current settings, the dispenser can change the settings for you.
For Jerry_NJ, I’ve seen your question about the small area for Costco hearing centers in other threads too. At my Costco, the hearing center is also small - I would guess that is standard. Testing is done in the sound proof booth you saw. My test was very professional, and the dispenser seemed to know what she was doing. No complaints at all. And no pressure to buy.
I don’t think the size is an indication of much of anything - certainly not of how much business they do, since the wait for a hearing test at my Costco is 6 weeks - they are plenty busy.
The hearing aid center at my Costco is small also. The optical center may have 100 different styles of eyeglasses. Everything the hearing aid center sells can be shown in a 6 ft display case.
— Updated —
The hearing aid center at my Costco is small also. The optical center may have 100 different styles of eyeglasses. Everything the hearing aid center sells can be shown in a 6 ft display case.
Thanks, I am happy to get calibrated on what is “normal” at Costco concerning their setup for selling hearing aids. The store nearest me didn’t have a large backlog, I got an appointment in about 1 week from my request. I also asked for morning and got the 10 AM slot, opening time.
I get by with my failing hearing, I am retired and don’t have to hear the supervisor, colleagues and customers as I once did. Still I’d like to hear my wife, the doctor, and birds, the TV, a movie,… better and am hopeful the affordable Sig 5.0 at Costco will make this possible.
— Updated —
Thanks, I am happy to get calibrated on what is “normal” at Costco concerning their setup for selling hearing aids. The store nearest me didn’t have a large backlog, I got an appointment in about 1 week from my request. I also asked for morning and got the 10 AM slot, opening time.
I get by with my failing hearing, I am retired and don’t have to hear the supervisor, colleagues and customers as I once did. Still I’d like to hear my wife, the doctor, and birds, the TV, a movie,… better and am hopeful the affordable Sig 5.0 at Costco will make this possible.
any chance you were in the military?
I don’t get email notice of replies for some unknown reason…here’s part of another reply I made on the subject of the VA.
I agree in theory on the VA, notwithstanding the mess we see now uncovered, and as a Navy veteran myself I checked on the possibility I might qualify for hearing aids paid for by the VA (tax payers) I was not ever under “fire” but I worked on the Navy flight line in the late 1950s (no war going on, other than the cold war). I was told that if I suffer from tinnitus (SP? ringing in the ears) the fact that I worked on Naval Air Craft gave me a good shot at being approved. I do not have any ringing in my ears so I dropped the issue.
good for you, saving the taxpayers money… it’s a lot of work to have the VSO fill out a claim for you.
As already mentioned the audiologist at Costco will program the hearing aids based on your test results. The “best” settings boost the frequency range where you have loss and leave the rest alone. Kirkland Sig 5s can also be programed for different modes. I received mine just a few days ago and the audiologist programed a general mode and a mode to reduce background noise - basically the rear mikes are switched off so you can better hear the person in front of you, etc.
My first impression is they are light, comfortable (barely notice wearing them) and they definitely help. My loss is moderate so the improvement is not dramatic, but I do hear the higher frequencies noticeably better, eg birdsong, bicycles approaching from behind when I’m out walking, my wife talking 
etc. They sound a little tinny sometimes, but that may be because I’m used to the sounds around me being duller (?). The volume and the mode switching can be controlled directly on the hearing aids, but it’s much easier to use the included remote control which also has a mute option. I don’t have anything to compare them to, but for <2k they seem to be getting the job done. I went to a different audiologist first who was in my insurance network, but he wanted to sell me aids which would have cost 7k out of pocket!
By the way, the software that the audiologist used to program the S5s identified them as ReSound, which suggests that they are in fact manufactured by ReSound.
Sometimes sarcastic answers don’t communicate well. If you served in the service and received an honorable discharge, the fact that you don’t have any ringing in your ears has nothing to do with whether you qualify to get into the VA system. And once you are in the system whether you get hearing aids is determined by your hearing loss. And these days they are very liberal about this. Read some of the past conversation on this forum about those veterans who have gotten hearing aids at the VA. The only way to find out if you qualify is to go to a VA facility (or something similar–and there has been much discussion in this forum about this), take your DD214 with you (or some similar service ID–and if you don’t have that tell them when you apply to find out how to get this material). Don’t just rely on a phone call to the VA. Go. Some veterans qualify solely on their past year’s income. And that is also determined by the area you live in, by your medical expenses and so on. It’s a formula that only a VA rep can work out. And not over the phone.
I’m confused is RayJ and Jerry_NJ the same person?
Hell there was a poster yesterday who was to lazy to drive 60 miles to the VA and instead was doing internet shopping for cheapo aids.
The hearing aid center at my Costco is small also. The optical center may have 100 different styles of eyeglasses. Everything the hearing aid center sells can be shown in a 6 ft display case. Regarding the size of the hearing aid centers at Costco, it’s interesting to hear they must all be about the same. A friend of mine who used to work in the produce industry and at an organic grocery store told me that they use grocery industry “coolers” for their hearing centers. They are so well insulated that they are sound-proof and just about the right size. Think about that the next time you’re in Costco.
In this case, size means nothing. What matters is the instrument, its cost and the skill of the hearing aid specialist, most particularly, the latter.
I tried to post this earlier but might have done something wrong - still new at this format. According to a friend who worked many years in the grocery and produce world, the Costco hearing departments are large grocery coolers. They’re very sound-proof and provide just enough space for two rooms and then they add a counter area in front. Guess that’s why they all look the same. I’ve only been to one store but my friend has been to at least 2 of them and it seems to be the same. I’m going to the other Costco next week to meet with their audiologist or certified person working there to see if I like them better. I’m also going to make an appointment at yet a third audiologist next week to learn about other brands. So far I’ve not been wowed by the audi’s - still looking.
My Kirkland Signature 5 HAs are in, got the call this afternoon. I have an appointment to pick up and have “fitted” next Monday. Looking forward to hearing better.
I will report next week on how I am doing with my new Sig 5 HAs. They are in at Costco and I have an appointment for my fitting.
I look forward to your first impressions. I’m going back to Costco today for my first eval after wearing my S5s for a week. I’m curious to see what the logs show and how the HAs are fine tuned. Over all the first week has been a good experience.
I picked up my Sig 5 HAs yesterday afternoon and wore for about 8 hours… including a 35 mile rush hour traffic drive home. I am very pleased so far and can report the TV audio is much clearer a well as speech, and I heard birds in my back yard for the first time in a long time.
Today I have made some use of the remote hand control and found that by lowering the volume on my aids I get a lot less heavy background noise, like when walking up wooden (no carpet) stairs and hearing the loud creaks and groans. I can always turn the volume up if needed. This control, however, is still a mystery. I think the problem is my Costco hearing aids fitter needs to enable a couple of programs. He did “pair” my aids to the controller, but I find that when in “P1” which is also “home” the two aid’s volume are locked and I see only one volume column… same for “P2” - the user manual shows both aids, each with a volume column. In “P3” I get the two volume columns and can (but why) set the aids to different volume levels. It also show the microphone and ear icons… seems this is the mode/program for devices that do streaming and connect the telephone. I have not purchased any auxiliary devices yet. The control manual also shows the words “restaurant” for “P2”, mine does not show that word…again I suspect the fitter didn’t program and needs to. He may have said, but in any case, he wants to keep my initial use to the “basic” function so we can learn if the overall set up is best for me. I have a follow up appointment in one month to check out how I am doing and I can then discuss the “missing” hand controller functions noted above.
So far: A+ for the Costco HAs and fitting. Then I have nothing to go on as I have never used anything better than the $12 amplifier hearing aids which were useless in my experience.
I’d appreciate any/all insights into the hand controller and the use of programs.
— Updated —
I picked up my Sig 5 HAs yesterday afternoon and wore for about 8 hours… including a 35 mile rush hour traffic drive home. I am very pleased so far and can report the TV audio is much clearer a well as speech, and I heard birds in my back yard for the first time in a long time.
Today I have made some use of the remote hand control and found that by lowering the volume on my aids I get a lot less heavy background noise, like when walking up wooden (no carpet) stairs and hearing the loud creaks and groans. I can always turn the volume up if needed. This control, however, is still a mystery. I think the problem is my Costco hearing aids fitter needs to enable a couple of programs. He did “pair” my aids to the controller, but I find that when in “P1” which is also “home” the two aid’s volume are locked and I see only one volume column… same for “P2” - the user manual shows both aids, each with a volume column. In “P3” I get the two volume columns and can (but why) set the aids to different volume levels. It also show the microphone and ear icons… seems this is the mode/program for devices that do streaming and connect the telephone. I have not purchased any auxiliary devices yet. The control manual also shows the words “restaurant” for “P2”, mine does not show that word…again I suspect the fitter didn’t program and needs to. He may have said, but in any case, he wants to keep my initial use to the “basic” function so we can learn if the overall set up is best for me. I have a follow up appointment in one month to check out how I am doing and I can then discuss the “missing” hand controller functions noted above.
So far: A+ for the Costco HAs and fitting. Then I have nothing to go on as I have never used anything better than the $12 amplifier hearing aids which were useless in my experience.
I’d appreciate any/all insights into the hand controller and the use of programs.
Glad to hear they’re working for you so far. Regarding the remote control I currently have three programs and none of them allow for adjusting the volume of the aids individually. When I press the button with a house icon the program switches to P1 with default volume. The button with the microphone icon toggles mute on/off. P2 is the restaurant program but it just say P2, not restaurant, on the screen. I don’t see the microphone and ear icons on the screen. I also don’t have any of the accessories yet. I’m guessing there’s a lot of flexibility in the programming and the fitter can change things to be more to your liking.
I also find myself turning down the volume a little when I’m in noisy environments. I think part of it is adjusting to hearing things much more acutely; it was a bit of a shock at first. Some things, like leaf blowers and motorcycles, don’t need to be heard more clearly
My fitter had me come back the first time in one week. A month seems like a long time for the first follow up.
Are you saying that you only see one column on the left of the screen, or one column on the right of the screen? You should see two columns, one for each hearing aid. Perhaps the remote control wasn’t paired correctly with your hearing aids. You can re-pair them by following the directions in the manual. Note that you won’t be able to adjust the volume separately on each side because the hearing aids are set to synchronize volume changes by default; the display will show both columns moving at the same time. P1 through P3 are the default display names for programs 1 through 3. They can be changed to something more meaningful. P1 is usually Binaural Directionality, P2 is Restaurant, P3 is Telecoil + Mic.