PS - What I really like about Android phones is automatic voicemail transcription. Reading messages left by callers is much more coherent and understandable than listening in my hearing aids.
Dr. Cliff put out a video on YT about why custom molds might be better than domes for a lot of hearing aid users.
I ride a road bike, and my KS10s (particularly the R ear), whistle with the wind. Curiously, the L one doesnāt do that very often. Would custom molds help that? Since Costco no longer sells Phonak, would they be able to make them for me if they WOULD help?
I may have missed it, but was there ever any revelation of WHY the relationship between Phonak and Costco went bad?
Generally, Iāve been a loyal Costco customer, but I had another āequipment issueā with them recently. In my fairly rural location, 5G cell service is spotty, and even in the middle of downtown Bozeman, I couldnāt get reliable internet web service on my iPhone 11 Pro. Late in January, I was in my local Costco and discovered that the Cell Provider logos were all gone from the area where T-Mobile, ATT, and Verizon previously had stood shoulder to shoulder. I started talking with the sole salesperson, who had a Costco shirt but an ATT badge, and ālearnedā that Costco had decided to switch to a single provider model (ATT). They had a special promotion with 90 Day return policy, so I purchased an iPhone 14 Pro to get 5G service (which actually DID get me better internet service and clearer calls, BUT simply horrendous customer service from ATT, I returned the phone and purchased an unlocked iPhone 14 Pro directly from Apple and returned to my previous provider (Spectrum, who sell access to the Verizon cell network). Subsequently, I learned that the āsingle providerā relationship was per STORE, not for the company. Lots of stuff is just behind the scenes and rarely discoverable by the consumer.
Custom molds wouldnāt particularly help with wind noise (noise from wind hitting microphone openings). If itās somehow causing feedback (noise you get if you cup hand tightly over ear or holding hearing aid in hand or both of them together)
I believe Costco could still get custom molds made for KS10.
Lots of conjecture on why Costco and Phonak broke up. Costco said it was because they were having charging problems with KS10 and couldnāt get satisfaction from Sonova (Phonak). Phonak says they want to support the audiologists that sell their product (or something like that) Bottom line, they divorced. Iām guessing it came down to a few people getting mad at each other. This was at least a USA wide breakup.
Interesting that some Costcos switched to single cell phone provider. I believe ours still provides all 3 major carriers. Agree with your opinion of ATT! Used to have landline āserviceā with them. What a joke. Glad you found a satisfactory solution.
Posting your audiogram (top of page: click on āFORUMā and then my hearing tests) would give us a better idea how suitable custom molds might be. IF itās the wind hitting the microphone opening, covering the aid with something can help. Costco used to give out free covers if you asked. Donāt know if thatās still the case or not. Hair or a headband can also help. I have KS9s and either donāt wear them or turn them off while riding.
Thanks so much for those suggestions. I do wear a beanie inside my road cycling helmet. Perhaps I could play with that a bit on todayās ride. It is wind noise, not electronic feedback.
I donāt think Iāve ever been given a copy of my own audiogram. My wife (who often cannot hear ME speak) says I need new hearing aids; I think not, but Iām having a checkup at Costco next month. Do I try to get a digital file copy, or a printed copy and scan it? Is there a standard file format for uploading if it IS a digital file?
I donāt know if they can provide a digital copy of your audiogram, but they should print one for you if you ask. The process here doesnāt involve uploading. Itās just maunal data entry for the different frequencies.
Glad youāre getting your hearing checked again. Other people often have a better assessment of oneās hearing loss than the individual with the loss (and interacting with those people is largely the reason I wear hearing aids)
I drive an older with the window open often. The costco audi made a program that helped a lot. Not sure what she did. Maybe just reduced the mic volume on the left ear? If your hearing is not to bad maybe you could just mute the mic?
Be safe
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Thanks so much for that. Iām not sure I would call it ālying,ā but there certainly wanāt any attempt to clarify that what was happening was in any way a local decision. Also, there WAS ābrandingā at work, with the guy who did the sale wearing a shirt with one logo and a name tag with the other (not actually certain now which was which). Then, there was the emphasis on a āCostco Premium
ATT Customer Support Line.ā No longer living in a metropolis, itās not possible for me to hop from one retail outlet to another to see if thereās even local consistency. I would say that the bulk of the bad experience can be laid entirely at the feet of ATT.
One particularly egregious (albeit trivial) example of this occurred in the 4 or 5 phone calls I made to ATT (all processed by obviously āoffshoreā support people) to make certain that my returned phone was processed by ATT in time so that they wouldnāt attempt to withdraw > $900 from my checking account for ābalance billingā of the phone Iād just returned to them after canceling my contract was that they accused me of somehow āharboringā a second SIM card for the phone. The iPhone 14 range of phones HAVE no physical SIM cards (theyāre eSiāMs), but when ATT shipped me my iPhone 14 Pro, THEY included a physical SIM card, and their support people even suggested at one point that theyād done so to enable my Apple Watch to have cellular access.
Maybe they keep those support people locked up under fluorescent lights, unable to go out into the real world and unable to notice that the legions of people whose watches are now square and colorful really donāt have much ROOM for a physical SIM card!
Have we switched the discussion to cell phones?
I thought the subject was hearing aids sold or to be sold at Costco now that there is apparently not going to be a āKS-11.ā
This still is the HEARING TRACKING FORUM, isnāt it?
Since Iām the guy who āled us astray,ā Iāl apologize The diversion started āsort-ofā on topic, because my comment focused on WHY Costco might suddenly change a marketing tactic that had served its customers well for quite some time, with evidence that those decisions were not always what they seemed on the surface. Still, I apologize. I must add, however, that nothing anyone has said means there wonāt be a KS-11. Iād guess none of us knows the intricacies of Costcoās trademark agreements with suppliers, but Iām pretty sure Costco, not Sonova, owns the āKSā branding label rights.
I believe the Rextonās are really Signia aids. I have the Signia AX7s and really like them. My experience with their holding a charge is identical to yoursāand yes, I got the telecoil version solely for its increased battery capacity. These aids took some tweaking of the musician program to really perform well in that regard. Once done, and it was simple, they perform great!
Iāve concluded there is not going to be a KS-11, so I am getting mentally ready to replace my KS-9s with one of Costcoās 2023 lineup, hoping they will be a further improvement.
Looking for experiences and opinions from the new branded lineup. One thing I definitely want to do this time is switch to rechargeable.
Any opinions/experiences to offer on the Costco 2023 lineup?
Just stumbled across this video, whose author says he previously worked for Beltone but has a very high opinion of todayās Costco lineup.
Interested in the reactions of others, as I get myself wound up to go to Costco.
You shouldnāt be disappointed in the Jabra at Costco, these are the ReSound Omnia and guess what the same as the Beltone models.
Iāve been wearing the rechargeable Jabra since April 1, 2023.
I like them for what they are. Huge improvement over my 2015 Rexton Trax42.
I did not get the microphone in ear as the hearing specialist said I would experience too much feedback, which others have stated the same.
I wear them for 12 hours or so and I am usually only down 1 dot, so 4 dots remaining on the charge scale.
Thank you for that info. Iām debating between that Jabra and the new Rexton. Recharging has become very important to me because my heavy use of Bluetooth listening chews through batteries on my KS9s to the point of total frustration.
I wear mine for 12+ hours a day and usually stream TV through the TV accessory for 3-5 hours. I consistently has 3 green dots at the end of the day. But batteries have limits on the number of charges and they lose capacity over time. I pretty well have decided to return what I have and get the version that takes replaceable 13s.
My audi told me that their practice finds after two years, typically, rechargeables start losing their ability to hold a charge for extended hours. My aids are under a 3 year warranty. They recommend I replace my rechargeable batteries for free at two years, and then again just before the warranty runs out.
My aids are holding a charge really well, like new really, after a year and a half. Iāll definitely get new batteries at year 3, if not sooner. Rumor is that sometimes they just send brand new aidsāitās cheaper than paying to replace the batteries. In any case, Iāll get 5-6 years of free battery life at a minimum. Philbob, are your rechargeable aids under warranty?
Thatās surprising that you are considering returning your rechargeable HAs for the battery version, especially with the good results you are getting now from each charge. Which HAs do you have? And does your streaming use bluetooth or a proprietary transmission method? BT seems to really chew up the batteries on my KS9s.