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Costco Kirkland Signature 5.0

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In reply to @rasmus_braun

@rasmus_braun said:

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

Thanks again for this tip. I went back today and had the gain from P1 auto related to P3. Now Directionality has he same gain as Basic + Softswitching. Then only other difference is that Expansion is On in P3 with BD.

I’ll wear these like this a while, and go back next Tuesday for a followup. That will be after the fitters have received training from ReSound that morning, so she may have some more adjustment to try out. The fitter was happy to learn about the autorelate tab, and asked how I learned about it.

I’m wondering now, though, if any gain adjustment should be made to the Restaurant or Music Programs. At the initial fitting she set everything up, Basic + Softswitching in 1, Restaurant in 2, Telephone/ in 3, and Music in 4. She then did a test and adjusted the gain in just P1. I subsequently made P3 Binaural Directionality with the same gain as P1.

I’d really like to get to the point where I’m in P1 the majority of the time, and just switch to P2 for noise like in restaurants or Costco, and a Music program occasionally.

Thoughts?

@jay_man2 said:

I’m wondering now, though, if any gain adjustment should be made to the Restaurant or Music Programs. At the initial fitting she set everything up, Basic + Softswitching in 1, Restaurant in 2, Telephone/Telecoil in 3, and Music in 4. She then did a REM test and adjusted the gain in just P1. I subsequently made P3 Binaural Directionality with the same gain as P1.

I’d really like to get to the point where I’m in P1 the majority of the time, and just switch to P2 for noise like in restaurants or Costco, and a Music program occasionally.

Thoughts?

Ideally you shouldn’t have to switch programs at all. You can customize P1 by using the environmental optimizer and noise tracker settings. There are 7 environments (quiet, noise, speech in noise, etc.) in which you can increase or decrease the gain, and increase or decrease the amount of noise reduction. So when the hearing aid classifies the environment you’re in, it will automatically apply the offsets for that environment.

If you switch to the Restaurant program for comfort reasons and don’t need to maintain speech intelligibility, there’s no need to copy the new gain settings over, but you may want to do so for consistency.

@rasmus_braun said:

Ideally you shouldn’t have to switch programs at all. You can customize P1 by using the environmental optimizer and noise tracker settings. There are 7 environments (quiet, noise, speech in noise, etc.) in which you can increase or decrease the gain, and increase or decrease the amount of noise reduction. So when the hearing aid classifies the environment you’re in, it will automatically apply the offsets for that environment.

If you switch to the Restaurant program for comfort reasons and don’t need to maintain speech intelligibility, there’s no need to copy the new gain settings over, but you may want to do so for consistency.

Thanks, this is very helpful. So far about 7 hours since the gain adjustment, Directionality is working fine for me. Nice to know what other adjustments I can ask about armed with this information.

I went to a noisy restaurant for lunch today, and was able to leave the aids in the Directionality program, and heard things just fine. With other aids at that same place I’d have normally switched them to the Restaurant program.

Does the KS5 have the same optional size receivers for different size ear canals that the Verso has? This link has a lot of information about Versos. Smart hearing aids and wireless accessories | ReSound International2
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In reply to @PastorJeff

I bought the Kirkland 5.0 Signature hearing aids. I received then on Thursday. This morning, Saturday, the right aid would not turn on. It was not damaged nor was it abused. It just would not turn on. I brought it in right away and they verified that it was was broken. I will take 5 to 10 business days to get a replacement.

I am not impressed.

Also the Phone Clip + does not work all the well. The mic picks up all back ground noise making it difficult for the person receiving the call to hear what I am saying. I am not impressed with this either. Seems to happen in all programs.

I’ve turned the gain down using the suggested program settings for all sounds too loud and then again for Loud mid and high freq.

I’m not using Kirkland’s but I do have a pair of Verso 9 that I really like. I’ve got mine programed for 1. BiNiural Directionality, 2. Soft Switching, 3. Restaurants. 4. Traffic. Truthfully I don’t know if directionality is turned on for anything but the first program.

I’m getting some feedback over the top of louder s sounds whether it’s TV or talk. It’s not only on the S but goes in and out over the top of louder or harsher speech??? I’m programming them myself so specifics help.

First impressions of the KS5.0 vs Bernafon Acriva 9’s

7 October 2013
First fitting of my Kirtland Signature 5.0 hearing aids. When my Au,D was measuring the acoustics in my right ear canal she must have hit my ear drum with the probe as I felt pain briefly like an ear ache. P1 is the automatic every day program. P2 is for speech in noise. P3 is for watching TV. P4 is for listening to music. In the car, listening to Carrie Underwood, P1 and P2 had feedback when Carrie hit high notes. My left ear seemed worse than my right ear.

My Au,D said that I could keep trialing my Bernafon’s until December 15[SUP]th[/SUP]. She wants to hear what I have to say about the difference between them and the KS5’s. She is especially interested in the frequency shifting capability that the Bernafon’s have.

The Bernafon people at the Costco conference were of no help on the Music program. The factory program is almost as if I turned the mute on. She said that she will ask the Bernafon rep when he comes to the store in the near future. Mean while she has setup a music program.

9 October 2013
The KS5’s seem louder than my Bernafon’s. I have been turning them down two clicks most of the time. They seem tinnier than I remember with the Bernafon’s. Many voices have a “Shhh” sound. I will wear the KS5’s a bit longer before I go back to compare them. The P3 TV program that she setup works well. I have not tried Music, which is a KS5 factory program. I have been having ear aches in my right ear late in the day. They are mild and I hope they will go away. Hopefully my ear drum is OK.

11 October 2013
Speech on TV and radio has a lot of “Shhh” sound. It is more pronounced for some speakers. The noise from running water reduces to about half after 4 seconds in P1. I can hear my ankles cracking when I walk down a tile hallway. I turn my aids down 4 clicks for comfort much of the time. My right ear drum seems to be better today. I had feedback when listening to music on my garage speaker system. I was under it and two feet from the wall. I hear sounds I do not remember ever hearing. The microwave caused my right aid to cut out and the left aid to sound distorted.

!2 October 2013
Listening to the Eagles “Hell Freezes Over” with the KS5’s sounded good in P4 Music except, the background violins sounded like static which was very distracting. Hopefully my Au,D can make some adjustment. I tried on my Bernafon’s and the same passages sounded great. I would still like to hear the Bernafon factory music program before I buy. I may have to send them back to Bernafon so that they can make it right.

Last night the crickets were out in force. I could hear their muffled sound inside while we were listening to a sermon with my KS5’s. The KS5 P2 noise program recognized the muffled cricket sound and within seconds muted it.

I am not all that impressed with the KS5 remote. I am afraid that I may leave it in my pocket and it will get washed. Too bad “Mute” is not controlled by the switch on the aid like my Bernafon. One positive comment is you can see which program you are in and what the volume level is.

In reply to @sho

I just went in and recalculated the DFS although DFS Ultra II is set to Mild and it’s set to OFF in Auto DFS in Advanced Features… and used the Aventa to lower Feedback and overall gain. Seems to be working. Is DFS something I should turn on for DFS Auto?

In reply to @sho

edsandra, I find the same thing comparing my ReSounds Verso 9 to my Starkey/MicroTech. But I also find that the Resounds give me better understanding of speech in all situations. With ReSounds it’s a matter of toning them down, with Starkey it’s a matter of I can’t understand the speech.

In reply to @sho

sho, Auto DFS is the setting you use when you can’t calibrate the feedback setting. My fitter ran the calibration, which required me to sit quietly while a loud static was played in one ear, then the other. If you don’t have the capability to run that calibration, turn Auto DFS on. That feature is grayed out in mine since calibration was run.

I got KS 5.0 last Friday, and notice they are MUCH LOUDER than my previous KS4.0, which I only had for one month. I need to keep them turned down three notches from the default, or it’s all too loud (especially the 30+ keyboards clicking and clacking in the lab where I teach!). No one has mentioned the 5.0 doesn’t use rechargeable batteries, and so it doesn’t come with charger/dryer. I’m not sure if that’s a big deal or not. They’re also a touch larger/bulkier. I’ve been reading comments about settings, and wasn’t sure about something. Mine are set for Normal, Restaurant, Music TV, and Outdoor. Are they automatically set for Directionality, or is this something I need to inquire about? I’m going in for adjustments later today. I’m keeping the 4.0s and trying these out for a couple of weeks before I decide which to keep. I’ll keep you posted.

MoHearing, the KS5s don’t come with a recharger/dryer, but Costco included a thermal dryer with mine. It came in a separate box all its own.

I have severe-to profound in hearing loss (see my audeogram below). Would the KS5 be a good aid for me? Does it come in a Power ? Above 2000, both L and R ears are now pretty dead. I have an appointment at Costco in a week. I have been having dreadful experiences with getting fitted, and went for evaluation a year ago. But they said I could get by with hearing aids for now. Well the audi for the CI evaluation was not a CI audi, so I did not trust his opinion. But really I do not want to get a risky CI surgery if I can avoid it. Things are at a crux for my hearing now. My last audi was big on Starkey and I bought a pair, but henow pushes AGX aids and the one he wanted me to buy looks similar to the KS5 except for the price, a whopping 6500$. I treasure your opinions on this. I pretty much live in a dark hole with this hearing loss.

The costco audiologist would be able to make a better determination. However, it looks like the Versos, which is what the KS5 is based on, max out at 100db at the high end. The KS5 is not the only hearing aid they carry. It is possible that they have an aid that is powerful enough, and MUCH cheaper then $6.5k.

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i’ve had a pair of Rexton ’s for the past 6 years. One died recently and costco sent back to manufacturer. They said it could not be repaired. So I went for a full hearing test/evaluation at my local costco by the same audiologist I bought my original HA’s from. I trust him very much. Never tries to oversell and is very meticulous.

Since I could purchase and use one new HA, I asked for his recommendation. He indicated the previous Kirkland HA’s (prior to Version 5.0) have had a high incidence of repairs. He said the new ones (Kirkland Signature 5.0) are too new to draw any reasonable comparisons to.

He suggested the Siemens (Rexton) as having the better processor and felt the seal from Receiver to HA was more impervious to elements like sweat etc.

I demo’d One Siemens (Rexton) along with my existing 6 year old Rexton HA that still works. I was shocked at how much better the new Siemens HA sounds. Walked out into Costco and the background noise of the carts was well controlled and I could hear his voice very clearly.

Then tried a pair of the Kirkland Signature 5.0, programmed to my data that was in his system. He was having trouble with one (which was somewhat disconcerting) But then got it to work. Under the same conditions, the clanging noise of the shopping carts was much louder and it was harder to distinguish his voice. I had to ‘work at hearing’ what he was saying a lot more.

Maybe this is a matter of adjustment of getting the correct setting on the Kirkland Signature 5.0, but in this brief 30 minute comparison, I was significantly more impressed with the Rexton/Siemens HA. More $$$. A pair is $2600. But my ears told me they are better. …>So I think.

Welcome your input. *First post here. But 6 year wearer of HA’s with moderate loss. (I am a musician who has been into motorcycles and music and shooting in my life.)

In reply to @rasmus_braun

@rasmus_braun said:

Here’s the list for the Verso 9. I can’t say for sure that the KS5 uses the same names but it’s very likely.

Acoustic Phone, Basic, Basic + Softswitching, DAI, Music, Binaural Directionality, Outdoor, Party, REM Test, Restaurant, Telecoil Loop + Mic, Telecoil + Mic, Traffic

I was fitted for HS5’s yesterday and am scheduled to pick them up next Wednesday. During my fitting, I discussed the various programs with the and I got the impression that most of them were redundant. For example “Restaurant” and “Party” are very similar, with “Party” having a little more background noise supression. “Outdoor” and “Music” are both very similar omnidirectional programs. I asked him about the modes too but he told me they really weren’t that useful (or something to that effect) for me.

He programmed the demo pair as follows: 1. “Auto” 2. “Restaurant” 3. “Music” and left #4 blank. I walked around the store switching between them and basically concluded that they seemed linear to me - in other words, “Restaurant” hushed the background noise the most, “Music” had the loudest background noise, and “Auto” was somehwere in the middle. I didn’t notice any difference in voice quality or anything else. I thought “Restaurant” was supposed to be directional (I stood next to one of the big freezers and slowly did a 360) but I didn’t notice this.

I’m wondering now if the HIS is over simplifying the for me or if these different programs truly are not very different from each other. Could it be that since I have mostly normal hearing below 2kHz that I am using my natural hearing more than some people so I notice the effects of the programs less?

Any advice for when I go back next week to pick them up?

Oh, and I also ordered the remote mic and Bluetooth Clip. Already downloaded the iPhone app too… :smiley:

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