Costco Kirkland Signature 9.0 (Product Information)

Hearing Aids
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#1366

How many different open dome sizes are there for the KS9’s?

I was originally fitted with M (medium) but they felt as if they were falling out my ears. So he replaced them with L’s (large).

The left ear fits well but the right still has that feeling like it’s falling out. I noticed this with my older hearing aids too but I just lived with it.

The fitter at Costco did say my canals are very wide.

Wondering if there’s a larger open dome that can be used just on my right ear, and leave the L size in the left?

TIA
Rob

#1367

In my case, I’m waiting for custom Phonak molds for my KS9s, but here is a solution I used for a similar problem with my KS5s which might work quite well for you:

https://tinyurl.com/wp6kgmt

#1368

Nate or anyone

I know you wrote about this a while ago but I am finding voices very sharp… the fitter did say he was going to accentuate the voices when I said that I miss words on tv as well as sometimes in class. Have you found you adjusted to this… I think I do get more words than before but still miss some as sometimes too crisp doesn’t help articulateness. There is definitely also a lot of crinkling and unwrapping loud sounds in environment I hadn’t heard so sharply too.

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#1369

This sounds pretty typical. Any sense that it’s getting better? It’s a judgement call whether to stick it out or ask that things be turned down a notch. If there’s any sense that it’s getting better and it’s tolerable, I’d stick it out. On the other hand, if you’re just exhausted at the end of the day, I’d ask fitter to turn things down a bit. Definitely use your meditation and mindfulness to get through this!

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#1370

Yoga, I decided to ask the fitter to leave the high frequency sounds sharp and try going to Phonak SlimTip custom molds and see whether that eliminates the excess sharpness and feedback without losing the high frequency sounds I need in order to understand soft, high frequency female speech. I won’t get them until the 30th so I will know more then and will report back. Ten or more years ago, I had Phonak SlimTips added to my then Phonak hearing aids and I liked them. (Before I bought my present KS9s I tried Westone custom molds on my old KS5s and did not like them at all, which is why I specified Phonak SlimTips this time. In silicone.)
If the SlimTips don’t eliminate the shrillness and feedback, my fitter told me she has some yet-to-described other techniques to try, as I don’t want to give up on my much better understanding of my sig/other’s soft, high-frequency voice. (I no longer need to keep a remote microphone pinned to her chair as I did with my KS5s.)

#1371

MBD It does seem better earlier in day ie voices or tv seem good and I lower volume a bit… If it’s turned down will that make things more muffled as I don’t like that too much… It does seem though at night voices that are sharp are hard to hear too… what happens when it’s turned down… is that high frequency… Speaking of meditation and mindfulness. … what are quiet and comfort as manual programs… it does get quiet if I don’t use them at all… in fact it’s so hard to hear voices at low volumes then I don’t hear anything in a meditation class when they are doing the instructions!

#1372

NateS- Interesting… I really initially had hardest time with male voices that mumble or are miillenials ie same thing… the fitter asked me if problem was volume or articulateness and I said it’s articulateness… I think it’s that as my volume is always only around 3 or sometimes 4 if I am trying to hear people asking questions on other side of room… Soft voices are hard to hear. I’d like to hear how it goes when you make a change. I am always jumping at the sound of dropping a water bottle on floor or random noises but am trying to get used to it… I think he did make surround sounds better in automatic program but not sure about the one he called direct voices.

#1373

Basically you can have them adjusted any way you want. Total volume can be turned down or just the highs can be reduced. For the meditation class: I’d encourage sitting in front as close to the instructor as possible. If it’s pretty quiet in there, you might want to increase the volume. You could also talk to your fitter and describe the situation and see they think a special program might be appropriate for that situation.

#1374

Thanks MBD. I know this is a basic question but is sharpness a function of increasing high frequency sounds… I don’t like sitting in front of class but that’s a good idea.

#1375

Nate, I am ready to order SlimTips for my KS9s but can’t decide on the material. I consulted the fitter but he didn’t offer much. Why did you choose silicone over titanium and acrylic?

#1376

Yes, sharpness is related to high frequency sounds. I’d just tell your fitter what you told me.

#1377

Actually, the fitter recommended the silicone. Also she is ordering them with canal locks and said it I don’t like/need the locks she can just snip them off if it’s silicone. And today someone else on this forum said they chose silicone because they thought it might create a better seal or grip against the canal walls.

#1378

Here is one of my soft silicone ear molds with half canal locks.

image
image.jpg3264×2448 1.59 MB

#1379

The theory says that silicone offers slightly better feedback isolation. On comfort the theory says that our ear canals are the part that gives, not the molds, and the material does not make that much if any difference.

In practice my experience was that the silicone did provide good feedback isolation, but not so much on the comfort factor.

#1380

Clarity is the overriding factor for my situation. My Oticon HAs (received about 9 years ago) came with domes that could reach deep in my canals and enhanced clarity. My Phonak Brio R (4 years ago) fitted with cShells did not reach the same depth. The fitter said that was the best the acrylic cShells could do. I’ve heard that titanium should solve the problem. I wonder if I should go with titanium or silicone. BTW, I think all SlimTips are modular regardless of the material. Am I correct?

#1381

I’m not sure I understand what that means. Are you saying that SlimTips are not custom made to fit the individual cavity of the ear canal? If so, why would they take impressions?

“modular” - “Designed with standardized units or dimensions, as for easy assembly and repair or flexible arrangement and use.”

#1382

SlimTips and cShells are both custom made. As I understand, the receiver in a modular ear piece can be readily replaced by the fitter at the hearing centre whereas the cShells must be sent away and redone. The audi fitted my KS9s with M-receivers. He assured me that if I experienced further hearing loss that will render them out of the fitting range (while in warranty) he would replace them with P-receivers.

#1383

I am not familiar with the term “modular” when talking about hearing aid domes and ear molds. I have been around this stuff for a while.

#1384

When I looked at the video of the Slim Tips, it looked like they snap onto the receiver in the same way domes do. That would make them modular compared to the molds for my Rexton Trax 42s, where the receiver has to be pushed into the full length of the mold, which didn’t look easy when I watched my audi do it.

#1385

Phonak provides a special “receiver handling tool”. The Costco fitters use this tool to remove and insert the receivers in SlimTips which are custom made to fit canals of various sizes and shapes - a clever idea.