Costco Kirkland Signature 5.0

the suggestion quoting the similarity between the two sorts of the device reflecting a better clue towards which one to be chosen as per the need and productivity

@Don said:

Well, not exactly true, at least not like you mean (except of course the last one).

Costco sells the current top model of Resound, Siemens/Rexton, and Bernafon. Costco does get those top models a few months after their release, but for most of the time, like now, there is not a higher model sold anywhere for those brands.

Some models are locked to Costco, like the Resound, but I think the Siemens/Rexton and Bernafon models are not. I’m not sure so maybe someone can verify. But, even if a model is “locked”, that means you only have 600 locations where you can walk in and they are contractually bound to give you free adjustments (buy at Costco and you get free adjustments for life). Buy at a local shop and you are completely on your own when traveling or for any other reason you can’t go to that one shop.

I haven’t had mine for 5 years but my understanding is that Costco has free followup visits for life. My documents do not show an expiration date. You may be talking about how long some manufacturers will accept hearing aids for repair. If some manufacturers refuse to fix their hearing aids after 5 years, that is certainly not an issue with Costco.

To answer your question, the reason someone would want to go to Costco in the first place is, 1) they give an excellent exam with up to date equipment, 2) they take time to show you your options, without sales pressure, 3) they have a reasonable selection of top end aids, 4) their prices are better (way better), 5) they include loss and damage (2 year), warranty (3 year), and unlimited followup adjustments, and 6) a hassle-free 90 day return. Plus they have an excellent roasted chicken for $4.99, and I buy my contact lenses in the optical center.

I and my Mother had similar expensive and poor repeat fitting experiences as other users above at two different audiologists. Two different Costcos fit us perfectly on the first visit, mine for $1800 and six months later, my mother got the same devices for $1299. This was my second pair, first at Costco, and I would never go elsewhere. In fact, I have a fitting for a pair of KS 5.0 I purchased today on Friday. Can’t wait for Bluetooth!

I loved your comment about the chicken! You can also lunch at the sample counters and the Aussie Bites are great!

Maybe we should start a thread on “Costco Food for the Hearing Challenged” or perhaps “Grazing while Demoing.”

@rasmus_braun said:

Binaural Directionality is the default Program 1. It allows 4 different responses: One side can be omni or directional, the other side can be omni or directional, or both sides can be omni or directional. Synchronized SoftSwitching only allows 2 responses: both sides are omni or both sides are directional.

You most likely got Basic + SoftSwitching because your fitter didn’t click Yes in the box that comes up at end of the initial setup process which asks if you want P1 to be Binaural Directionality.

I had Binaural Directionality programmed and have tried it a few days. While it works well in some situations, I seem to hear better in noise with the Basic + Softswitching program that was initially set as Program 1. I don’t know how much of that is attributable to the directionality aspect, or to the amplification applied in Basic + Softswitching versus Binaural Directionality.

Anyway, I’m pleased with the performance of the Kirkland 5.0 aids, and really enjoy the improved phone clip and TV streamer performance compared to my ReSound Remote mic aids.

@jay_man2 said:

I had Binaural Directionality programmed and have tried it a few days. While it works well in some situations, I seem to hear better in noise with the Basic + Softswitching program that was initially set as Program 1. I don’t know how much of that is attributable to the directionality aspect, or to the amplification applied in Basic + Softswitching versus Binaural Directionality.

Anyway, I’m pleased with the performance of the Kirkland 5.0 aids, and really enjoy the improved phone clip and TV streamer performance compared to my ReSound Remote mic aids.

If SoftSwitching works best for you, then go with that. Binaural Directionality is helpful if you have a speaker in front of you and one to your side. It can change the microphone setting on the side closest to the speaker to omni while keeping the opposite side in directional. The gain settings in both programs are identical by default.

@rasmus_braun said:

Your fitter must have made changes to the Basic+SS program. Changes in one program aren’t reflected in any of the other programs. Incidentally, if you have multiple copies of the same program, they’re still separate and not linked.

The best thing to do is a “Reset to Initial Fit” from Fitting menu. That way you start fresh and get all the default settings rather than trying to copy from one program to another.

After the initial fit she did a REM test and must have changed Program 1. Only later did I realize that it wasn’t Binaural Directionality, and had that set at a later appointment. The gain settings for it are very different. I like the gain settings for Basic + SS, and just want to copy those settings into the Binaural Directionality program, so I can see what impact just the different directionality setting has on overall performance.

@jay_man2 said:

After the initial fit she did a REM test and must have changed Program 1. Only later did I realize that it wasn’t Binaural Directionality, and had that set at a later appointment. The gain settings for it are very different. I like the gain settings for Basic + SS, and just want to copy those settings into the Binaural Directionality program, so I can see what impact just the different directionality setting has on overall performance.

OK, she can use the Autorelate feature to transfer the gain from P1 to the BD program.

I am also getting the KS5 in a week so I am trying to learn as much as possible before getting fitted. Thanks for the great posts. I did find this white paper on the Resound website that others may find interesting as well relating to directional options in the programming.
http://www.gnresound.ca/~/media/DownloadLibrary/ReSound/White%20papers/resound-directional-options-white-paper.pdf5

After 10 years of having ‘borderline’ loss, finally ponied up the $$ for a set of KS 5.0s. As a new device wearer, I find adjusting to the electronic input is taking a little time. Not earth shattering results, but I certainly don’t have to work as hard to hear what people as saying to me. I have genetic low frequency loss, and am the last of my family to get into hearing aids.

Great experience with Costco, and felt like all the other independant audiologists that I visited over the last 14 years have been hacks. ‘borderline’… turn out I’m 35-40% normal hearing in my right ear.

Just a quick update on my KS5s
Using the Phone Clip and the TV Streamer fairly frequently, my first pair of batteries lasted 5 days plus a couple of hours.

-Jeff

That’s good to know. I told the fitter at Costco yesterday that I’ve been back for adjustments so often, and gotten new batteries each time, that I hadn’t figured out how long they would last. I told her I’d just start coming in every 4 days and never buy batteries again.

I’m going back in Thursday to adjust the gain in the program that’s set for Binaural Directionality.

I was fitted with the new Kirkland Premium 5s last week and I do like them as far as hearing. I can hear things that I didn’t hear before–turn signals, paper crumpling, my footsteps on the floor. So that is good. Also, the settings were too loud for me. I need to get my audi to lower the volume, which I’ve not had to ever do before. My challenge is with speech in noisy environments. I have the restaurant setting and the party setting, but don’t see a lot of difference with those. I’m interested in the directionality settings and what works best. I was surprised that I was able to hear well with the RITE and the power domes when before I have been fitted with the BTE aids. I find that if I get them in right, I don’t have any feedback. They’re definitely more comfortable than the earmolds. I am using all the accessories and so far so good there, although I haven’t used the mini-microphone yet. It will be good to use in church when my husband does the lesson and when we’re in the car traveling or at a restaurant. Over all, I am happy with these and you can’t beat the price!

@revcarlag said:

What is the binaural directionality and what does it do for you? I have mine set on party, restaurant and traffic. The traffic setting is worthless and I’m no sure that I’m getting that much help from the restaurant and party. How about you?

binaural directionality:

http://www.gnresound.com/professionals/technology-and-innovation/surround-sound-by-resound/binaural-directionality3

@revcarlag said:

Okay, Rasmus, what is the best way to have them set if you are in a room with everyone talking and you want to hear the person in front of you?

Carla, I would change the directionality in either Restaurant or Party to “Fixed” instead of “AutoScope Adaptive”. Also change the directional mix from “Very Low” to “High”. This will give you the most focus to the front at all times. Try to stand with your back facing the people you don’t want to hear. Party has a stronger noise reduction setting than Restaurant. Glad to hear the KS5 is working out for you. Better than Bernafon?

@revcarlag said:

What is the binaural directionality and what does it do for you? I have mine set on party, restaurant and traffic. The traffic setting is worthless and I’m no sure that I’m getting that much help from the restaurant and party. How about you?

My Kirkland 5.0s were initially set for Basis + Softswitching, Restaurant, Telephone/Telecoil, and Music. I swapped out Telephone/Telecoil for Binaural Directionality, but the other programs seem to work well for me. I am going back tomorrow to have he gain settings for Binaural Directionality set the same as Basic + Softswitching, so I can compare the two.

I have Traffic set in my ReSound Remote Mic aids, but rarely switched to that program with those aids. I usually stay in Program 1, but switch to Restaurant in my company’s cafeteria, to reduce noise levels. I also use streaming just about every day; the Phone Clip + and TV Streamer work well with the Kirklands.