Frequency Shifting - Which Hearing Aids at Costco include it?

Hearing Aids
#21

Yes, I appreciate your point, z10user2. And I am very grateful for your understanding of how painful my present situation feels, if I cannot get some improvement to possibly get me back to how great my KS5s worked for me up until the past year or so, either by adjusting or replacing them.

By way of additional background pertinent to your suggestion of other and/or more expensive providers, I would add that I have had the KS5s since 2013 and until the past year or so, the Costco Hearing Aid center and the KS5s have provided me with what I have felt has been an experience far superior to six years before 2013 when I had spent $7000 plus on then “top-of-the-line” Phonak Audeos and accessories purchased from a well-regarded local audiologist, whom I also paid about $300 yearly beyond the first two years for servicing notwithstanding the fact that those visits consisted mainly of him demonstrating how loudly he thought she should amp up her voice every time she spoke to me. (If everyone shouted as loudly as he would demonstrate in a megaphone-like voice, none of us would need to bother with hearing aids at all.):sweat_smile:

For those reasons I feel more confident sticking with the Costco Hearing Center at this time, although I appreciate the fact that others may have had a better experience elsewhere

Best wishes, Nate :smiley:

#22

Hey…don’t get me wrong…I got KS7’s (which have frequency shifting). I was just commenting on your seeming dissatisfaction with your current provider as to why you’re here asking questions. But I see you’re a well experienced hearing aid user… unlike me.

#23

Good luck to you. I think the chart will be helpful… Let us know how it turns out.

If you get a response to the affect of “you’re expecting too much, you’re too demanding, you’ll never have normal hearing, etc.”, these are signs that the audiologist isn’t well versed on the hearing aid software. It has been my experience that the lack of knowledge isn’t intentional, and most audiologists try to be helpful, but they don’t have the training with the software, beyond an on line seminar.

Oh yeah, bring your wife with you and try to duplicate the condition where you can’t hear her voice…

PS - Sorry, I should have thought of this sooner:

You may be having problems with anti feedback being too aggressive. Feedback happens roughly in the same range and human sibilants, especially female voices. So what could be happening is the aids are not fitted correctly and are trying to feedback, so the anti feedback stays on, and that cuts out those highs you need to hear your wife’s voice. To test this, just have the audiologist turn off anti feedback. If your aids start to squeal, then that is most likely the culprit.

The first thing to try is (with anti feedback turned off) reduce the volume around 3K and see if that stops the squeal. Your wife’s voice is around 2K to 4K.

The next thing is to test the fit of the earmold, to see if it is leaking sound. If you have aids with an earmold, like an all in the ear type, then have the audiologist block the vent temporarily, and see if the feedback stops. If it does not, then you have an earmold issue and the aids need to be remolded. If the feedback goes away when the vent is blocked, then have the audiologist reduce the size of the vent and see if that helps.

Tracking down the source of feedback is tricky, because it can come for a few unrelated places, and it takes some work to track it down…

#24

Thank you, zureblue. More good suggestions for me to take up with the Costco hearing specialist. Looking forward to getting an appointment right after Christmas and New Years.
Best wishes, Nate :smiley: