Costco kirkland 5.0 hearing aid settings

Thanks for both inputs. Firs:
Fitter suggested three weeks, I do not live close to Costco so I scheduled it for four weeks when I have another reason to be in the area.

The handbook, manual, shows to volume columns, one on the left, one on the right. P3 allows me to adjust them separately. P1 and P2 show only a left side volume column and it adjusts both. I am sure the control is paired, I was just concerned by the lack of information shown in the paper manual that came along. It shows two volume columns (L/R) for all “P” modes. It also shows the word “Restaurant” under “P2”. In any case I am very pleased with what I have in hand and will continue to “blog” here before calling the HA center to ask questions. As I think I said, in “P3” the hand held shows both mike volumes separately and of course has “<” and “>” to select which HA is getting the volume adjustment.

I am listening to Fox News (sorry if that troubles anyone) and an clearly understand every word, from both male and female speakers. My hearing problem was clearly one affected by not “hearing” some sounds. As you know, the Costco evaluation tests included word recognition - some of which I failed. The base programing took that data into account, don’t you just “love technology”?

@Jerry_NJ said:

P1 and P2 show only a left side volume column and it adjusts both.

Something’s wrong then. The remote isn’t communicating with your right hearing aid, otherwise it would show the right-side column. I suggest re-pairing them.

Okay, thanks I’ll give it a try, re-pairing.

I now notice the only way to turn the hearing aids off (power off) is to open the battery compartment. Would doing that cause pairing to be lost? I opened the battery compartment last night when I removed the aids. Seems that would extend the battery life, but the wear and tear on the battery door may cost more than the cost of batteries saved. So, is the normal operation to just leave the HA on 24 hours?

Open the battery door every evening after you take them off, and put them in a hearing aid dryer. The Costco dryer works fine, or there are others available that work, such as the Dry and Store. I may just be lucky, but in over a decade of wearing aids I’ve never had a battery door break.

@Jerry_NJ said:

Thanks, thanks.

I did a re-pairing and the hand held now shows both L/R volume columns I think the HAs work better too. Does the pairing hold over overnight battery removal?

I looked up information on the battery and found the 312 battery has about 160 mah capacity and the HAs use a bit over 1 ma, so they can be constantly on (not using wireless or other power hungry devices) and last about a week. But, if I take the HAs off and lay them in close proximity they develop a squealing feedback and that can’t be good for the batteries or the amplifiers. The only way to turn the HAs off (take power off) is to open the door. Putting the batteries in a “dryer” is another new one on me, it wasn’t mentioned in the owner manual, or I overlooked it. I have to look into that one.

I can detect different “hearing” in the different modes. P1 is the “normal” or default/home mode and when I shift to P2 I think I can detect a loss of hearing to the rear, restaurant mode? Or does that have to be programmed in my the hearing specialist? P3 seems the most sensitive and everything seems louder, maybe more panoramic. The hearing is different in each P-mode and the manual doesn’t explain further than to say the specialist can program the modes.

The pairing is stored in the remote control; it’s not affected by turning the hearing aids on or off. If your P2 is Restaurant, that program does activate the directional microphone which reduces sensitivity to sounds behind you and to your sides. If P3 is Telecoil + Mic, there seems to be a very large boost in gain for soft and moderate sounds in the mid and high frequencies.

Thanks good to know. Sounds right from what my ears tell me. I can check with the specialist when I return to discuss my experience and any problems I may find.

I do not have a “dryer” and think I will go forward trying to live without it. The Sig 5 came with a nice storage case and if I open the battery compartments before putting the HAs inside that should both extend the life of the batteries and prevent the HAs from talking to one another - : ) Nice to know that the pairing is stored in the remote, that unit has a power off switch.

Costco gave me an AudioScience dryer with my KS5s. It looks like a coaster with a lip, and a power cord hanging off of it. I wouldn’t be without some sort or dryer, given that the aids spend all day in damp conditions. And with a Dry and Store with the UV lamp killing bacteria my ears are less itchy.

I spent $2 large on these things. Another $100 to keep them in tip-top shape was worth it to me.

Great, seems there is no consensus. I asked my Costco specialist about cleaning and he minimized the question and said store in the included case.

The battery is a new one on me, and I hadn’t thought about the battery being active even if not connected to a power consuming device. Well for now I am opening the battery case each night and I’ll see how long the batteries last. If they’re out in less than 7 days I’ll try just leaving them in. I believe I read or was told the batteries last about a week.

@Jerry_NJ said:

Great, seems there is no consensus. I asked my Costco specialist about cleaning and he minimized the question and said store in the included case.

The battery is a new one on me, and I hadn’t thought about the battery being active even if not connected to a power consuming device. Well for now I am opening the battery case each night and I’ll see how long the batteries last. If they’re out in less than 7 days I’ll try just leaving them in. I believe I read or was told the batteries last about a week.

When your aids are working the batteries are consuming oxygen as well as when the aids are off. You may get suggestions from some that they close the holes of the batteries each night then remove tape in the morning may be a bit obsessive in my option. I think your estimate of 7to10 days should be normal. If you have a streaming device, that can further reduce battery lifetime by a couple more days.

— Updated —

@Jerry_NJ said:

Great, seems there is no consensus. I asked my Costco specialist about cleaning and he minimized the question and said store in the included case.

The battery is a new one on me, and I hadn’t thought about the battery being active even if not connected to a power consuming device. Well for now I am opening the battery case each night and I’ll see how long the batteries last. If they’re out in less than 7 days I’ll try just leaving them in. I believe I read or was told the batteries last about a week.

When your aids are working the batteries are consuming oxygen as well as when the aids are off. You may get suggestions from some that they close the holes of the batteries each night then remove tape in the morning may be a bit obsessive in my option. I think your estimate of 7to10 days should be normal. If you have a streaming device, that can further reduce battery lifetime by a couple more days.

@Jerry_NJ said:

Great, seems there is no consensus. I asked my Costco specialist about cleaning and he minimized the question and said store in the included case.

The battery is a new one on me, and I hadn’t thought about the battery being active even if not connected to a power consuming device. Well for now I am opening the battery case each night and I’ll see how long the batteries last. If they’re out in less than 7 days I’ll try just leaving them in. I believe I read or was told the batteries last about a week.

I’ve only changed the batteries twice - waited until I got the chime in one aid and changed them both. So far they’ve lasted 6-7 days. My dad told me he puts the battery stickies on his calendar each time he replaces them so he can track how long they last. By the way batteries are amazingly inexpensive at Costco, so I wouldn’t sweat how long they last.

http://www.costco.com/hearing-aid-batteries.html

— Updated —

Open the battery doors prior to putting them in the travel box. Using the mute button does not save on batteries.

Serious? Always I take learning about HAs seriously and appreciate all the help here.

Tonight, relay only 5 days since my new HAs were powered up I got three beeps in my right ear. The remote showed a battery for the right side. I just took the HAs out and shut the mikes down. Then this evening, a few minutes ago I tried to turn on my HAs (remember battery signal) and the remote showed “paring” does that happen automatically when a low battery has been detected? It was unexpected to me that the pairing would be lost due to low battery(ies) as the pairing is not lost when the battery “doors” are opened for storage…which I did at least one night.

My understanding is these zinc oxygen batteries discharge constantly once the seal is broken. So I wonder if opening the doors provides any real extension in battery life In any case my first pair of batteries seems to be good for 5 days (counting 24 hour periods, not day of week) a little less than I’d like to see.

On this forum, I have been unsuccessful in setting whatever it takes to get email notification when there is activity on a thread I am interested in. I again went into “advanced mode” and set the “instant” preference. I also have that set in my “profile”… still no email notices.

Opening the battery doors shuts the aids off. Muting them does not. The batteries will last longer. Yes, they continue to discharge even when not used once activated, but not as much as when the aid is ‘on’.

@Jerry_NJ said:

Serious? Always I take learning about HAs seriously and appreciate all the help here.

Tonight, relay only 5 days since my new HAs were powered up I got three beeps in my right ear. The remote showed a battery for the right side. I just took the HAs out and shut the mikes down. Then this evening, a few minutes ago I tried to turn on my HAs (remember battery signal) and the remote showed “paring” does that happen automatically when a low battery has been detected? It was unexpected to me that the pairing would be lost due to low battery(ies) as the pairing is not lost when the battery “doors” are opened for storage…which I did at least one night.

My understanding is these zinc oxygen batteries discharge constantly once the seal is broken. So I wonder if opening the doors provides any real extension in battery life In any case my first pair of batteries seems to be good for 5 days (counting 24 hour periods, not day of week) a little less than I’d like to see.

On this forum, I have been unsuccessful in setting whatever it takes to get email notification when there is activity on a thread I am interested in. I again went into “advanced mode” and set the “instant” preference. I also have that set in my “profile”… still no email notices.

seriously was in reference to your concern over filling up the landfill with batteries. you could always go with rechargeable batteries and only use a pair every year or so.

— Updated —

@Jerry_NJ said:

Serious? Always I take learning about HAs seriously and appreciate all the help here.

Tonight, relay only 5 days since my new HAs were powered up I got three beeps in my right ear. The remote showed a battery for the right side. I just took the HAs out and shut the mikes down. Then this evening, a few minutes ago I tried to turn on my HAs (remember battery signal) and the remote showed “paring” does that happen automatically when a low battery has been detected? It was unexpected to me that the pairing would be lost due to low battery(ies) as the pairing is not lost when the battery “doors” are opened for storage…which I did at least one night.

My understanding is these zinc oxygen batteries discharge constantly once the seal is broken. So I wonder if opening the doors provides any real extension in battery life In any case my first pair of batteries seems to be good for 5 days (counting 24 hour periods, not day of week) a little less than I’d like to see.

On this forum, I have been unsuccessful in setting whatever it takes to get email notification when there is activity on a thread I am interested in. I again went into “advanced mode” and set the “instant” preference. I also have that set in my “profile”… still no email notices.

seriously was in reference to your concern over filling up the landfill with batteries. you could always go with rechargeable batteries and only use a pair every year or so.