WillyA, based on that previous experience I hope that you specified that you wanted a different fitter to wait on you at your next appointment because the previous one seemed inexperienced. If not, I would call in advance of your appointment and make sure of that. It’s hard to imagine that a rookie would be placed in charge of the whole Hearing Dept. so there must be someone more experienced who could serve you. Otherwise, it will definitely be a waste of time all the way around.
Nate
Thanks for your kindness and encouraging words. Unfortunately there is only one specialist at this location and a secretary, thats it. Perhaps when I try the KS5’s on I will be pleased that she can adjust them. Otherwise, I have to travel about 45min to 1 hr for another Costco. By the end of Friday, I will know what trial direction I will go with, either trial the KS5’s or something like the Phonak Bolero’s or Widex Dream lines for a local audiologist. I really wish this could be a simple decision but its not.
I used to own top of the line ReSound Live 9 thin tube BTEs, and paid top dollar for them from an audiologist. I can certainly tell you that I’ve never just “settled” for a pair of aids. These KS 5.0 aids made by ReSound are top notch, at less than a third of the price of those ReSound Live 9s.
Willy,
I would have to agree with what Palmfish said. You got discouraged when your first pair of HA’s from Costco took to long to come in, they didn’t work when they first put them in your ears, you couldn’t hear clients with them, they had to send them back, you didn’t like the second ones either. So, your going in thinking Costco offers inferior HA’s of the bat, so unless you can get past that I think you are fooling yourself also. Anyway, good luck with the KS5’s that is if you can go in with an open mind.
In the Telecoil + Mic or PhoneNow program, under Advanced Features, move the Mic/Tel slider four notches to the right to turn off the microphones. The slider is set in the middle by default, which is the -3 dB setting. Move right one notch for -6, two notches for -9, three notches for -12.
Willy,
I had the exact same thing happen to me with the Acriva 9s. First set were bad within 6 hours. Waited for a week for the replacments. I started having issues with the second pair within 2 days. Costco was great when I asked for a refund. The person asked if I would try the KS5’s. I picked them up today. My original fitter was relatively new, this time when she fitted them the manager was in the room coaching her. So far I am very happy with the sound and quality of the KS5’s. Plus really happy not having to wear the bluetooth streamer around my neck.
Boomer, thanks for the comments. I decided to cancel my appt at Costco. At the Costco near me there is the fitter and secretary, that is it, no other senior level person. I was just not impressed. Did not want to travel 45 minutes plus tolls to another Costco, with no guarantee of success. After reading these forums I saw that there are some national discounters who work with local audiologists. I worked with Hearing Planet, their prices are lower than if you went in off the street to the local audiologist, as others have reported. In a 2 week period, with 2 appts, I tried the Phonak Boleros Q90’s and the Widex Dream 440’s, both top of the line from the manufacturer. I ended up ordering for the 45 day trial the Dream 440’s (RIC). You place the order with Hearing Planet and they give the audiologist a flat fee. I will tell you that Hearing Planet will negotiate on price. I found the ha’s less expensive on 2 other websites and they matched the price. The price difference was significant. Additionally, rather than forking over the entire amount upfront, although fully refundable, I went with CareCredit to finance them. They give you 12 equal monthly payments, no interest. Of course if you are late on payments the interest rate is huge. But why fork over the entire amount during the trial when I am basically giving them about 2 months during the trial of payments. If I keep the aids I can pay the balance anytime in full without interest or keep paying each month for 12 months without interest. Thank you CareCredit for giving me a 12 month interest free loan. I am not aware that Costco has any financing plans, of course the Costco units are less money. I will have the Dreams in a about a week or so and will give them a whirl. To be continued…
Good luck to you, WillyA and hope you keep us posted as to your successes with your new HAs. We all wish you well.
For the information of others, however, I will comment on this sentence in your post: “I am not aware that Costco has any financing plans, of course the Costco units are less money.”
That is not entirely accurate. When you are a Costco member, you are given an opportunity to acquire a Costco American Express card, on which all purchases are interest-free for the first six months you own the card. That would include hearing aids if you purchase them on that card within the first six months of acquiring the AmEx card.
In addition, if you still have a balance on the CostoCo AmEx card at the end of the first 6 months, interest is only applied to that balance going forward, unlike the CareCredit Card which, if any portion of the balance remains at the end of one year, you will be socked back retroactively with a very high interest rate from the original date of purchase, on the entire original balance. So be very careful not to leave even $1 left owing at the end of the “free of interest” period on that CareCredit card for even one day, and be sure your last payment is sent in well in advance of the last due date, by certified mail return receipt required. Otherwise you will be in for a big shock. And their “Purchase APR is 26.99%!”
Thanks for the correction, additionally there is no annual fee for the card with a Costco membership and it appears that there is 0% APR for purchases bought within the first 12 months of the card possession.
I don’t own a pair, but I have fit about 50 pair and worn them as well. The KS 5 is an amazing hearing hearing aid for the money. I’ve had 1 unit break down. Man made stuff does that. You are a hearing instrument fitter’s wet dream… Not meaning to be offensive, but you are right in the range where amplification can be most effective.
Try them and put them through their paces. Be as explicit about your situational difficulties as possible. Your audiogram only tells us so much. This is not a linear game here. The human component is also very much a factor. Be free about what you like and don’t like with the realization that there is no perfect system. You still have a hearing loss and nothing will change that.
HOWEVER, as an audiologist who has practiced in a panacea of settings and is happily settled in at Costco, I believe very firmly that you would be insane to buy elsewhere. Your loss is not hard to fit and the equipment is excellent.
I gather that you are still favorably impressed by the Quintras? I’m leaning that way for clean speech, smaller size and longer battery life. I assume both the Quintras and the Kirklands will make me happy. Hey, Am I also a fitters wetdream, as far as my hearing loss goes?
i posted this on another thread but got no response. I want to clarify on some settings before I head to my next tuning appointment so I can understand if that is the change I want. Also it’s difficult to get appointments at my local costco in short spaces. I am trialling KS5 since last Wednesday.
From my audiogram you can see my loss in right ear is profound . costco doesn’t yet have UP receivers or so I have been told. The higher frequencies on right I pretty much dead hence I have HP receivers on both and they are doing a fairly a good job.
I want to know if get the sync turned off for volume control ( I have been using Seimens RIE for the last 8 years and so used to controlling the volumes individually, also due to my hearing loss, it’s some times come in handy) how will the volume botton on PC+ Respond . Meaning will it increase both aids or just one aid. I do not intend use remote control2. I intend to use PC+ as my main remote and use iPhone app only when necessary
will Turning on the focus phone feature automatically enable Tcoil when I use my landline? My program 3 is tcoil. At 71, I do not want options where I have to remember to change programs manually as much as possible.
I can only connect to mini-mic from my hearing aid ( pressing the bottom switch for 3 secs) . Even when the mini mic Is off the hearing aid fails to connect to my tv streamer. Using the app I can connect to both .Has my Fitter missed something?
Thank you for reading my post.Your inputs will be greatly appreciated.
Well this afternoon we attended first stageplay since getting my KS5s. We sat in the center of the 7th row from the stage, and I ran into an unexpected problem.
When I turned up the volume to hear and understand the female actors, the male actors’ voices were uncomfortably loud; when I turned the volume down to a comfortable level for the male voices, the female voices were too faint and I couldn’t understand them.
My girlfriend tried to reassure me that the men were “projecting” their voices more than the women, so she felt it wasn’t the fault of the hearing aids, but IMO that’s not a solution.
Isn’t there some way to independently adjust the volume between high and low frequencies? How would I do that?
My sweetie has worn hearing aids for many years and just purchased the Signature 5. We believe the aids have helped her a bit but often she still hears sound but is unable to decipher it. Its as though others are speaking a language she doesn,t understand. As I read this thread, it seems those of you who are happy with these aids have less of a hearing loss then she does, which make me wonder if she is not the right candidate for them and should be at other aids. Any guidance would be appreciated.
