An update on my initial review of my KS 10 hearing aids (post #541 dated May 4):
The problem with incoming phone calls routing to the aids just fine in the morning but after a few hours they no longer do so. And related, when this happened a double tap on the hearing aids would not longer “ding” to notify me that I could access the Google Assistant: This has been resolved (so far) by addressing some known Bluetooth issues with Android 11 on my Pixel 4XL phone. There were a couple of posts on this thread that lead me to research further and I found instructions for deleting all connections (Bluetooth and Wifi) from my phone, clearing the Bluetooth cache, etc., and while it was a bit of a pain to reconnect everything, these connection problems with my HA’s are completely resolved. I did find notes saying that you may have to do this every few days until Google fixes the actual problem, but mine have been fine for 4 days now. Of course I also received an Android 11 security update/patch the other day so it is possible that this update resolved the issue. Fingers crossed!
The problem with double tapping the right HA to answer a call being very hit and miss seems to have resolved itself. If I had to guess, I’d guess that it was related to the Bluetooth issue, as it “resolved itself” about the same time I did the Bluetooth fix. Double tapping both the right and left HA’s has been very reliable since.
The problem with changes made in the Easy Line Remote app not sticking was resolved with the information given by @outfall (post #569). Changes now stick and the app is actually useful. Note that his instructions were for his Samsung phone. For the Google Pixel phone see my post #575.
Another problem not listed in my original post was that when listening to podcasts on my morning walks, the podcasts would get drowned out by the noise of traffic passing by or wind blowing in my ears. Again @outfall came to my rescue (Post #566) by sharing that while streaming, the volume up/down buttons on the HA’s do not actually adjust the streaming volume, although at first impression it seems that that’s what they do. What the buttons actually do during streaming is to decrease (volume up button) or increase (volume down button) the amount of external noise that the HA’s mics pic up. To change the actual volume of what is being streamed you have to use the volume controls on the phone itself. This has been a HUGE improvement and has made listening to the podcasts pleasant rather than frustrating. I start the podcast, run the volume up button all the way up, and enjoy the podcast on my walk with little intrusion from outside noise. Note that I was pleasantly surprised when I found that double tapping my left ear to pause the stream automatically puts the mic’s back to their original setting. This is great for when you stop to talk to someone and need the mics to be fully functional again. When you double tap to resume the stream it reverts back to the “muted mic” setting. Very slick! And also thanks to @Sam2k21 (post #568) for posting the related instructions, which I did not receive with my HA’s.
So, first of all, kudos and many thanks to @outfall for his input that resolved 2 of my major frustrations!
Secondly, I am actually now quite happy with the KS 10 HA’s. I still have to work with my Costco HA tech to address a few sound quality issues (my old Oticons currently still sound better), but now that all of the technology actually works (phone calls, streaming, double tap control, and even the much maligned Easy Line app), I am actually loving the HA’s. Which is a big statement for me because having used HA’s for the past 8+ years (Costco Rextons, Oticons, and now the KS 10’s) I have always hated HA’s and have considered them only a necessary evil. But this new technology is so amazing and helpful that even if I never get the sound qualtiy to match my old Oticons, I’d never switch back (the Oticons only supported Android connectivity with a separate dongle that you wear around your neck, which I was unwilling to do).
So, I’ve pretty much gone from “I’m probably going to return these at the end of my eval period” to “Nope, I’m not returning them”. Yes, I can find HA’s with the same connectivity and maybe better sound quality, but probably not for anywhere near the $1,399 of the KS 10’s. My Oticons were $7,500, but I was still working at the time and most of that was covered by my insurance. I’m on my own now and I’ll never pay anywhere near that much for HA’s again.
So, thanks mainly to help from this forum, things are now working exremely well. It’s still a bit disconcerting that my Costco HA tech had absolutely no idea of any of these fixes. But I will be sharing them with him at our next appointment so maybe he can be better prepared to help future customers.
