Costco Kirkland Signature 312 batteries draining quickly

Hearing Aid Batteries
#22

I have Oticon Opn 2 miniRITE T hearing aids. When Costco switched manufacturers about a year or two ago (not sure how long it has been) I could no longer use the Costco batteries. They had worked fine and been great with the previous manufacturer. I am so disappointed they changed manufacturer.

I have the same issues where the battery could last two hours or a couple days but never consistent and for a full five days like I had been used to.

I have switched to buying my batteries from Sam’s Club for a similar price to Costco and they last a normal amount of time. I do switch my batteries between my left hearing aid and right hearing aid each morning when I put them in so they end up running out about the same time.

I thought it was just me that had issues with the Costco HA batteries, nice to know it is not just me.

#23

Rkennedy how do you like the Phillips other than the battery issu? I just ordered them from Costco, but I went with the rechargeable ones. Don’t see many reviews online anywhere. New to the site and just thought I’d ask. Thanks!

#24

I will admit I was very hesitant to go with them because I could not find many reviews. However, I have been very happy with them. I have had absolutely no issues with them. I can have normal conversations with my wife across the room and understand every word she says and have the tv volume on 13 vs 28 without them. Costco set them at 80% but planning on going to 90% this Thursday. They have it set currently on everything automatic. She said we would discuss turning on T-Coil and the buttons. I am very happy with automatic and can not tell if it has changed programs. I was leaning towards Phonak but she talked me out of it. 5.5 months left to change my mind but currently I am happy.

#25

Awesome I’m happy to hear that. My tech hasn’t sold any in the 2 years since he became licensed. Made me a bit nervous. He said hi Phillips rep is going to be in the day before I come in for the fitting. I told him to learn a lot of good stuff for me. :+1:. He said he would.

#26

I have been using Costco Kirkland Signature 312 batteries for 8 years. Never had the problems shown here. I use 4 batteries each week, works well for me.

#27

I think you will be happy with them if your fitter knows what he is doing and sets them with REM. Be sure he does.

#28

Update on Costco Philips 9010 battery issues. Returned the aids to Costco today and was told they had called Philips to send a new pair and she was told their is a major chip problem with the 9010 312 battery aids. My choice was to go with the mini or the rechargeable ones which are not having any issues. So if you have purchased Philips 9010 with the 312 battery and having short battery life or other issues return for full refund.

2 Likes
#29

Glad I ordered rechargeable! What did you end up doing?

#30

I went with the Philips 9010 rechargeable? Should be in next week. I have loaners until then?

#31

I just purchased some Amazon Basics batteries, 60 count, for $18.22. They are lasting me maybe 3 days. Haven’t paid close attention.

The hearing aid specialist at Costco told me I’d probably get 3 days if I stream a lot, otherwise maybe 5 days. I do stream a lot.

One question: How do you find the battery level? I can’t find that info anywhere in the MyPhonak app.

#32

I would like to share my recent experiences on this subject I have been using Costco KS9 Aids for 11 months and had about 5 days service life with Costco batteries when streaming TV sound about 3-4 hrs daily. No other streaming usage, no phones nor computers etc.
Along comes Covid 19 with associated lifestyle changes (5 hour TV viewing) and coincidentally the Phonak Target software upgrade that I self install. I also change the TV audio connection from Analog to Toslink digital.

My battery life goes erratic and I assume it’s because of a new Costco card with a bad batch of batteries. Battery life seems OK when used without streaming during daytime but fails within 1-2 hrs when streaming TV. After trying a dozen batteries with similar results I’m finding that if the battery is tried again the next day, after resting for 24 hrs that it has recovered and is functional again. This success repeats for another few days till failure.

As I can’t return the aids to Costco yet for testing because of the Covid shut in I then tried Amazon basic batteries as they do delivery. Same results it seems with erratic service life.

I suspect that perhaps the battery quality is bad or that the latest Target Software upgrade increases the Streaming power draw causing a lower voltage so the HA shuts off and requires a new battery. The battery regenerates and is serviceable the next day and the cycle continues for a few days till failure.

All comments on my experiences would be appreciated.

#34

My batteries last about 80 hrs or 7 days.

#35

Perfect. Which hearing aid? Do you do any streaming?

#36

For ~2 years, I’ve used Costco Kirkland 312 batteries in my KS9 HAs, and they used to last 3-5 days, but (beginning a couple of months ago) the batteries now die after 1-2 hours. When I check them with a digital multimeter right after they die, they always show 0.85 volts. If I set them on the table and leave them for 20 minutes or so, they both recover to 1.44 volts and work fine again, for about an hour or so, then die again with same voltage readings. They also recover again, etc. I tried using Energizer 312s from the local department store, and they behave exactly the same way, so I don’t think it is the batteries. I’m scheduling an appointment at the Costco HA center tomorrow, to have the HAs checked out.

#37

Do you use a hearing aid dryer?
Electrical connections from corrosion act like your description.

#38

This is the first I’ve heard of such a thing. That’s odd, since the audiologist at my Costco store has been superb at everything else so far, and I would expect him to mention it. I’ll discuss it with him when I take the HAs in for analysis. I’ve been really pleased with them until this problem occurred. For me, they work just as well or better than the Oticon Epochs I previously used, at 1/3 the price. I live in a dry climate (Denver, CO area) and I’ve been really careful not to get them wet and to keep them clean. However, unfortunate experience with cellphones has shown me that water and microelectronics don’t mix well. Thanks for the tip!

#39

Humidity shouldn’t be the issue in Colorado, maybe sweat.
Either way Costco should fix you up.
Good luck.

#40

I have had some of the same issues others have had with Kirkland 312 batteries. I have four-year old OPN1s, and for the past 6 or so months I’ve had terrible trouble every time I had to change batteries. One or the other ear (it varies) almost always starts draining immediately and the hearing aid turns off within a few minutes. Getting them working again has involved some time-consuming combination of turning on and off bluetooth, re-pairing, rebooting my phone, adding a new battery, etc. I got so frustrated I made an appointment with an audiologist to talk about repairs and another appointment at Costco to talk about getting new hearing aids.

I don’t know why it never occurred to me, but a couple of weeks ago I decided to try a different battery brand. I bought some Rayovacs at CVS and - no problems whatsoever.

I have used Kirkland batteries almost since the beginning with no problems. They’re worthless now, which is surprising because Costco is generally known for quality merchandise.

#41

I used Kirkland 312 batteries in my KS7 aids, and they lasted a little less than a week. Did they put out a bad batch, or did someone return some old ones? I recall reading that Ray-O-Vac is the manufacturer of the Kirkland HA batteries.

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#42

They may have been made by Rayovac at some time, but they look different and certainly behave differently now. I don’t think it’s a bad batch because I have had the same problem with batteries with several different expiration dates. I think they have a bad manufacturer currently.