Rexton Quintra 2c, Costco's newest?

Hearing Aids
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#114

Definitely the Alta Pro’s. The big difference between the two is the binaural processing and spatial noise management as well as an automatic learning mode. There is more info here:http://www.oticon.com/~asset/cache.ashx?id=18220&type=14&format=web

I found the Quintra’s very good with the standard calculated setting without any tweaking. Where it fell down for me, as I’ve said, is with speech in noise.

I disagree strongly with you about analogue being better. The analogue sound may be a bit smoother, but there was no way to manipulate the incoming sounds to eliminate unwanted background noise. Your brain had to do it all. Nothing wrong with that. If you prefer analogue sound maybe that’s what you should look into. I think there are threads here dealing with analogue hearing aids exclusively. You might want to read through them. Certainly a basic analogue HA would be much cheaper.

#115

oticon and widex seems to share some fm accessories. this tells me that they may share a whole lot more than that. imo if you want to have a more relevant comparison with the oticon aids, then compare it with a phonak. if speech in noise is your main issue, then you should look into phonak’s gaming changing binaural stereozoom technology. seeing that you need a power aid, the nadia q is probably the way you want to go. but you need a high end version of the aid to get that stereozoom feature.

#116

I’ve tried Phonak. Their implementation sucks. At least for my ears. Plus they are expensive and I had nothing but trouble with their reliability. Just my experience for my ears. Others like them.

For me, I found their algorithm for switching between situations (quiet, noise, etc) could never make up its mind. Worse, would get stuck in the wrong one and would have to be rebooted and reprogrammed. Maybe the new ones are better, but that experience left a bad taste in my mouth. Never again.<shrugs></shrugs>

#117

You describe the issue that many on this board had with phonak aids. I actually gave up on the audeo smart aid (pre-spice aid) for this exact reason. I actually gave up on a savia aid a while back too, which could have been soundflow related. Stereozoom brought about a lot of new users and finally an audi on the board determined that the soundflow issue was actually that those programming the aids were not running the feedback manager program. I am still not sure if it has to be run before or after programming the aid but I think people indicated that it’s the first thing that has to be run each and every time the aid is programmed. imo to play it safe it should run before and after programming the aid. All it is a target icon on the default programming screen that needs to be clicked on. I had so much trouble convincing new users to tell their audi to do this. So in the future when I decide to try out a new phonak I will be sure to ask my audi to run the feedback manager before and after programming. Not 100% sure if this will work but I remember trialing the audeo smart and there were times when that aid performed magic that no other aids could do.

#118

Just to report on my Rexton Quintra 2c experience – I have been testing top of the line HAs over the last 6 months - Widex Dream 440, Siemens Micon Pure 7, Phonak Audeo Q90. I was unimpressed with the Widex, the other two were decent – better than what I have now (Phonak Audeo Smart IX) but not sure if the upgrade is worth $5,000. I too think that the Phonak software has hard time to decide which program to choose.

After reading many posts on this forum, I decided to try Costco’s Rexton Quintra 2c, picked them up last week. 90 days return policy, whats not to like. I have to say that so far they seem to be equivalent to the Siemens and the Phonak, not better but not worse either, and they cost half of the price of the other three. I still need to stress-test them in noisy environments but if I had to choose today, I would go with the Quintra. I am also going to test Phonak Naida + Roger pen (that may help in restaurants), will report on them in a week or two.

#119

Well I’ve had my Quintra aids for about 6 weeks now. I have yet to get them dialed in well. Every time I go in the specialist seems to fumble with the software. For some reason she is unable to make small changes without completely resetting the aids, and she invariably can’t get things set the way they were before. Every time I go in it’s like I’m starting over from day one. Once she even managed to turn OFF the noise reduction feature.

My most recent tweaking has resulted in very tinny sounds and frequent feedback in my left ear. On two separate occasions she has actually had to call her support office to answer questions about features I noticed in the software that she didn’t know about. And she is the SENIOR Specialist at this location. The others have only been at it a short time and appear to have been trained by her (one was training with her when she did my initial fitting.)

Guess it’s time to go to another Costco. Do other stores have access to my records or do I have to request they be transferred? I’ll hate giving up the convenience (it’s only 5 minutes to my closest store but about 45 to the nearest other store) but at this point I’ve pretty much lost confidence in the local store.

BakaNeko



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#120

Apart from the programming problems in my previous post, I also have a very hard time keeping the receivers in my ears, particularly my right ear. I apparently have large ear canals. She’s tried several types of “domes” and my right one still keeps popping out. My right ear is currently a single vented dome and my left is a closed double dome. Is it common to have different domes in each ear?
Would this problem go away if I went the custom molds route? Or wouldn’t that make a difference? Also, do custom molds completely close the ear canal or do they get vented somehow? I tried “in the canal” aids several years ago and hated how they completely plugged up the ear.

Thanks.

BakaNeko



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#121

I think going to the other Costco store is the right thing to do. Start with a new hearing test and then get a new fitting. Regarding the domes, it’s not uncommon to have different types on each side. It all depends on the loss in each ear. The open domes are available in three sizes: 4, 8, and 10mm. The double domes are available in two sizes: 8/10 and 10/12mm. If these sizes don’t fit, then you have to get custom molds with appropriate vents. And make sure the cable length is correct; it should be flush against your ear when the receiver is inserted.

#122

Thanks for the response. I have one more fitting with my local Costco on Tuesday. Depending on my results I’ll most likely go to another store. Do I need to request my records be transferred or will they have access to them in their computer?

As far as the domes are concerned what is the deciding factor between getting the open domes and the closed double domes? I would prefer open domes so i don’t get that “plugged up” feeling but obviously I’ll get what I need. I imagine i would eventually get used to it but for now i don’t care for it.

Thanks again.

#123

They save to a server so if you are in the same area they should be able to get to it. But, they can get the current setup from your hearing aids anyway.

Depending on the brand (not sure who has what) there is a dome called a tulip dome. It has two flaps that overlap slightly. It is a little bigger than a regular dome and conforms to the size of your canal. I had that and loved it. It has better feedback control but is not occluding, and they are very comfortable. I couldn’t tell I was wearing anything.

I have heard the limit for open fit was around 25 to 40 loss at 500 Hz, and it depends on how much amplification you need in the high tones. I used the tulips with my hearing test results below. My hearing is a little worse now so I’ve gone to a custom mold. It is comfortable also (but the tulips are better) and the mold has a select-a-vent thing where it is vented with a large hole and they give you inserts that fit in the big hole and have different size holes. I tried the different inserts until I found the largest one that would not give me too much feedback.

#124

So BakaNedo…in what “general area” are your Costcos located? I’m looking for the best fitter in So. Cal.

#125

I’m in the west Puget sound area across the water from Seattle.

I did happen to pop into the Costco in Santa Clarita (a little NE of Burbank) a month or so ago and they actually have a full blown audiologist (AuD) on staff. This was right after I had my first fitting and I needed a tweak but she didn’t have any time available. If you’re near there you might try her out.

#126

I have tried Rexton Quintras with double dome and quite like the sound but have ended up returning it since it was less clear than my old Epoq. However, I have tried Oticon Alta with ear mold and also with double dome. I found out that the sound was much better with ear mold than double dome. I am wondering if I try Rexton Quintra with ear mold, will the sound be much better than with double dome? Anyone can give me idea so that I can save one thousand dollar.

#127

It depends on your hearing loss and the size of your ear canals. Can you post your audiogram values? Perhaps the double domes weren’t a good fit and you had lots of leakage. You can get a tighter seal with custom earmolds.

#128

My audiogram is about this:
250 500 1K 2K 4K 8K
50 60 55 65 65 70

Left and right ears have about the same loss
I think my ear canal is small.

#129

I have worn the Quintras for 2 weeks and so far have not found any reason for adjustments, I can hear conversations in noisy environments and speech is heard well from people talking behind me. The three programs are auto, noise, and TV. I find the auto program works well in most situations. I will use TV for a few shows but is generally not needed. The auto p;program must work in loud places because I do not notice any difference when switching to that program. I originally was going to buy the KS5 but some comments posted said the sound wasn’t to their liking. I figured the additional cost for top of the line aids was worth it and didn’t want to make a change.

#130

Can you give an update on your Quintra HA? My mom is getting ready to get replacement aids and I’m curious about those.

#131

I have been using Quintra 2c for 70 days now. I like them a lot, they are as good as Siemens Micon Pure 7 and cost about half. However, given that I am still within the 90 days Costco trial period, I am planning to demo the Phonak Brio in the next couple of weeks.

#132

I have dicided to keep mine. I think they are confortable and work real well for me. Mine use the 312 size batteries and they are plenty small for me. Batteries last me over a week, since I change them out Sunday nites whether they need it or not. Cheap. I feel this is the right size for me. Smaller HAs feel like they might fall off. I feel I could do better in speech recognition but I have not gone back for my 2nd adjustment. I need to make a list of any shortcomings, which are very few. I’m happy. Would buy again. I have had them for around 5 months.

#133

My rechargeable 312 batteries only last about 14 hours so by the time for prime time TV they are running out of power. I wonder if I should just use the regular batteries as they are pretty inexpensive at Costco.