GN launching a Jabra branded M&RIE product at Costco

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#122

Interesting if Costco limits replacements claiming you damaged a HA. I have had my left Quattro fail FOUR times in 2.5 years (about every 6 to 8 months). The right one lasted 2.5 years before failing in the same way(streaming works great, external microphones stopping working, especially at high frequencies; booting HA, rattling, talking, chewing, revive HA function for a minute or two => loose connection?). I don’t think there was any environmental damage, except possibly using a Jodi-Vac every day on the microphone and receiver openings and gently blowing the microphone openings at a very oblique angle with a gas duster (only a slight hiss sound and a gas current that mildly tickles fingertip) could be responsible. In returning the HA’s, I gave a full description of everything I might have done myself to cause failure, including mildly sweating for the first few failures.

Each time, through my audi, the defective HA was sent in and ReSound replaced it with a new Quattro (I’m told by audi the body, wires, and receiver were brand new each time).

So if Costco is stingy on mysterious HA failures, that would be a slight vote (for me) towards paying more to get my next HA’s (whatever they are) through TruHearing.com and continue on with my very helpful and patient audi!

The 1x replacement, no-questions-asked replacement under my purchase agreement is if it’s clear that my use lead to the failure, I step on the HA or the dog eats the device. Perhaps a claim of sweat is “misuse” but I think any HA brand and any retailer that uses that as an excuse are going to lose a lot of business. Folks will flock to the most sweat-resistant HA’s and whoever builds a better mousetrap in that regard will likely garner a lot of the migrating business.

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#123

Has anyone tried the rechargeable Jabras?

#124

I’ve had the rechargeable Jabras for almost a month. I’m wearing closed domes on standard MP receivers. I use the TV Streamer two to three hours a day, wear the aids 14-16 hours a day, and have yet to drop below 60% charge in both aids.

I will be getting custom molds with M&RIE receivers, and I’m curious to see if the third mic on each aid uses more battery.

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#125

When I go back for my check up I plan to ask if I can try the M&rIE just to wear around the store for a while. The fitter said it would not work well for me, but I would like to try. Part of the reason is I paid the full $1800 but don’t get the latest tech receiver or rechargable batteries. I’m sure the rechargeable LION battery cost more than the 4 pack of 512 batteries I got with mine (plus the charger), and same for the M&RIE. I asked for the 512’s, but was a little surprised it was the same price.

Don’t get me wrong, I like what I got but am curious about the M&RIE.

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#126

I was fitted for Jabras earlier this week. I was confused by all the custom earmolds they have! I’m used to what Jabra called “encased” – hard plastic. M&RIE receivers aren’t available “encased” so I won’t be getting M&RIE (fitter seemed to think I’d be happiest with with what I’m used to – hmm).
Fitter didn’t offer a disposable/rechargeable option – and my bad I didn’t ask. My receipt includes “Battery size Li-ion” in the description – that’s rechargeable, right?
Earmold model/description is: “Resound Earmold”; Receiver model/description is: Resound/ Fort/Cala HP 2."

From what the fitter said, there are other softer acrylic custom mold options that do allow M&RIE. In all cases, the M&RIE receiver pushes into the mold (like it would to a dome).

Let us know which molds you got and how M&RIE is working in them.

-kate.

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#127

FWIW, the Jabras I just ordered – no M&IE because the receiver is “encased” in the custom mold – are rechargeable I think (receipt says battery size is Li-ion). I paid $949.99 each (Costco itemizes R & L) – so like $1900 (and another $80 for custom earmolds).

#128

My receipt for the rechargeable Jabras also says “Battery Size Li-ion.” I also see that you are using HP 2 receivers, meaning High Power with a wire length of 2. If you are currently wearing HP receivers in encased molds, M&RIE receivers in another type of mold may not give you enough power. Your loss is worse than mine until we get to the 6k and 8k frequencies, where my hearing drops off.

I’m currently wearing MP receivers, which are only slightly more powerful than the M&RIE receivers.

I expect I will be getting micro molds that fit completely in the canal, but won’t be sure until I go back on the 28th for the impressions.

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#129

Thanks for the translation! I have M receivers in my KS10s – and maybe the M would’ve been fine in the Jabras. Fitter was also concerned that R&IE couldn’t provide sufficient “extra” power beyond my loss (my words not his). As long as my loss is stable, is there a good argument for “extra” power?

#130

You are within 10 dB of the fitting range for the M&RIE receiver. But as you said, if your loss is stable, why not at least try them. I would have if we could have figured out the chirping and strange sounds from my left ear with the various domes. I’m happy with the regular receivers and closed domes, but figured what the heck, let’s see if custom molds make a difference. Part of me feels like I’m not getting my full value without experiencing the impact of that third mic.

If you are wearing KS10s now, the Jabra even with standard receivers will be a different experience. I found the KS10s mechanical sounding, and focused on speech to the detriment of other sounds. To me the Jabras have a more natural, open sound, allowing me to hear both speech and environmental sounds. The TV streamer, which I already had, also works great with the Jabras. I am impressed with the improvement in tv streaming over the Prezas, which were good with the streamer.

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#131

I’m getting my Jabra’s in a few weeks. I was ready to pay for them at the beginning of July but my Costco couldn’t find to model # for the size 13s. The Audi had to call several times after the July 4th weekend to get the price page (glad I read this forum and knew to ask). I’m getting the M&RID custom molds. Found put last week that those aren’t made with the acrylic. I had a reaction previously with the black silicon domes (but not the clear) so she’s having the molds “dipped”(?) In a solution to make it hypoallergenic. Figured it’s worth a try. If I start having a reaction, I’ll go back to acrylic and regular receiver.

Just looked at my bill, yep…same price as with the rechargeable ones.

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#132

I tried out Resound One’s from a private audiologist for 3 weeks and now am trying out Jabra Enhance Pro’s from Costco in order to compare fully. Both have M@RIE and rechargeable batteries. I now believe people in this forum are accurate in concluding that the two are the same, except that the Jabra’s don’t have a tinnitus management feature (which I don’t need). The private audiologist would charge me $5,800 for the Resounds with a premium charger; the Jabra’s from Costco with a standard charger are $1,889 for the pair, plus $199 if I want to upgrade to the premium charger (which I will). Although I’ve only had the Jabra’s for 5 days, I’m getting the same experience as with the Resound One’s: excellent speech recognition; great for birding, able to hear more birds and a wider range of birds than ever before, with excellent directionality; great for cycling with friends having a conversation and for birding while cycling, with excellent wind noise reduction; great in a noisy restaurant situation, with a very good ulta-focus feature allowing me to hear well one-on-one in noise; providing the ability for me to understand music lyrics for the first time in my adult life. I’m not yet fully satisfied with the audio quality of some phone conversations, but I’m hopeful that I’ll be able to resolve this with a little tweaking of one of the channels plus my own learning as a user. With Costco I get a 180 day return policy, so I’ll be testing them more and will report back to you about any changes in my own assessment. But so far, I’m thrilled. Thank you again to all you on this forum who provided input which has allowed me to arrive at these conclusions.

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#133

I paid $1799.99 for the aids at a Costco in Northern Virginia. There’s no tax on medical devices in Virginia. The premium charger was $199 plus tax. Where are you located that the aids are $90 more? Still a great deal versus $5800 for ReSound Ones.

#134

California.

I saw the price quoted as $1,799 and asked why $1,899. My hearing aid fitter said the price is $1,799 in some states, $1,899 in others.

#135

ferrisp, what are the standard programs you’re using with the Jabra’s, and in which of the circumstances (e.g. birding, cycling) you mentioned? I received my Jabra’s from Costco two weeks ago with All Around and Restaurant as the only two programs, and I know I am going to ask for some changes on my next visit.

Thanks

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#136

I have 4 programs set up: All Around, Outdoor, Restaurant, and Ultra-Focus. I use All Around most of the time. When I cycle and/or bird, I use Outdoor. When I garden, I also use Outdoor. In noisy restaurants, I use Restaurant if I’m with a group; otherwise, I use Ultra-Focus if I’m just with one individual.

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#137

Thank you! I have found that the sound quality when streaming (whether audiobook or music) is far less pleasing than with my Signature 9s, and narrator voices are barely recognizable from what I experience previously. I was wondering if the Music program might give better results, since it seems Resounds streaming strategy is to apply whatever program tuning is active to the stream, and Music processing would be minimal. On the other hand, voices don’t sound very natural in general with the first fitting of the Jabras, so maybe I should focus on getting that sorted out before I worry about streaming quality.

#138

garyh, that’s interesting. . . .and quite different from my experience. The two optional explanations are: 1. Your hearing loss is different enough from mine perhaps that the sound quality would be commensurately different, or 2. Your HAs aren’t adjusted adequately. I tend to imagine that the latter is more likely to be true, but what do I know? My sound quality with both audiobooks and music is excellent; in fact, as I mentioned, my understanding of the lyrics is far superior to anything I’ve experienced in years. The music itself is pleasing and sounds full. I don’t use a separate Music program but instead use the All Around setting, and that works for me.

Also, with reference to your sense that “voices don’t sound very natural in general”, I don’t have that experience. Quite the opposite. Voices sound quite natural.

So I tend to imagine that you may simply need some adjustments from your fitter/audiologist.

Please post how this evolves for you, as I’m now quite interested and think I may be able to learn from your journey.

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#139

ferrisp,

I’m getting fitted for Jabra aids next week at Costco and your experience with birding and one-on-one conversations in crowded locations is encouraging, as those are two of the situations that I find most frustrating with my current Resound Forte aids.

If I get the Jabras, which I expect to do, it will be my third pair of Resound aids from Costco. The Forte’s were bought 3 years ago to replace Resound Forza aids purchased from Costco 8 years ago.

Last month, the left aid developed an intermittent crackle and the battery door on the right aid stopped clicking shut. The hearing center manager at my Costco suggested sending them back to Resound for repair before the warranty expired. While waiting to get them back, I used the older Forza’s, which still work perfectly, but made me realize how much better the newer aids were. I’m hoping the Jabras will in turn be much better than the Fortes.

Incidentally, both the Forzas (8 years ago) and the Fortes (3 years ago) cost $2,500, so the Jabras at $1,899 will be considerably cheaper.

#140

jwerner, I’ll be very, very interested in your experiences with the Jabra aids. Please enter your comments into this forum as you test the new HAs.

I continue to have excellent hearing with the Jabras while birding and in noisy restaurants. I’m getting some clicking sounds when listening to the radio in the car, some experience in the left ear of a muffled sound, also some startlingly loud sounds while cooking with my wife. I expect the latter can be resolved with some adjusting of one of the programs. I don’t yet know what the clicking is about, nor the muffled sound in the left ear (maybe wax buildup?). So I’m still tweaking and evaluating. But so far my overall experience is very positive and my expectation is that we’ll be able to tweak and adjust satisfactorily.

I’ll continue to post to relate the solutions I find and my ultimate evaluation.

#141

Hi there… I am new to the Hearing Aid community and I have sensorineural hearing loss with my left ear being better than my right ear. I have been living with hearing loss since the age of 3 and have got my first pair of hearing aids from Costco KS10 back in April 2021. I have been said that my hearing loss in my right is much severe and have been fitted with Power receiver in both my ears with custom acrylic c-shell earmolds. The KS-10s were my first choice (Jabra’s were not launched during that time) and I remember I was the first to get from my local Costco because I was impressed with the Marvel P90-RT last year when I trialled them. I am able to hear well in home situations but not in outside situations like in car, in office with AC or generator running in the background. Also there is distortion in my right ear alone whenever my daughter’s shouts in excitement/screams when cry. The other issues that I have with my KS-10s is that the battery life is not that great and it drains faster when streaming particularly and being on calls for over 5 hours a day. I have been said the KS-10s should offer 11 to 12 hours of streaming time, but I haven’t gotten anything even remotely closer to that. So, I am thinking should I be trying the Jabra’s at Costco as I find my fitter really friendly, good and addressing the issues patiently.

The HIS said the Jabra M&RIE (Resound One) wouldn’t work for my right ear well for my hearing loss even with closed domes and the usage of custom tips as well. Could someone with experience take a look at my audiogram and suggest if there is anyway I could get the M&RIE fitted for my ear so that I could try them out.