Goosebumps, my first iPhone was the iPhone 5, which my wife now uses for streaming music only. For the past year I have had the iPhone 6+ and love it. My 2 kids with Android phones both had iPhones but eventually changed to Samsung’s due to cost. Now they both want iPhones again due to user friendliness and performance. My son who has the iPhone 6+ that doesn’t perform well has T-Mobile for his iPhone 6+, and another company (I don’t know which) for his company provided iPhone 5. When I call him I can barely understand him as his voice breaks up so much. He calls me back on his company’s iPhone 5 and he is totally clear. So the service provider has a lot to do with that.
As for getting everything working together, it just comes natural to me, the techie in my blood … and brain. Actually, I taught some adult education classes on computers in Cal State Long Beach and Cal Poly Pomona a few years back, including a CompTIA certification class. I myself am CompTIA A+ and Microsoft certified.
Goosebumps, my first iPhone was the iPhone 5, which my wife now uses for streaming music only. For the past year I have had the iPhone 6+ and love it. My 2 kids with Android phones both had iPhones but eventually changed to Samsung’s due to cost. Now they both want iPhones again due to user friendliness and performance. My son who has the iPhone 6+ that doesn’t perform well has T-Mobile for his iPhone 6+, and another company (I don’t know which) for his company provided iPhone 5. When I call him I can barely understand him as his voice breaks up so much. He calls me back on his company’s iPhone 5 and he is totally clear. So the service provider has a lot to do with that.
As for getting everything working together, it just comes natural to me, the techie in my blood … and brain. Actually, I taught some adult education classes on computers in Cal State Long Beach and Cal Poly Pomona a few years back, including a CompTIA certification class. I myself am CompTIA A+ and Microsoft certified.
Neil I wonder if your son’s phones are on different networks, one phone is a GSM and the other a CDMA? I think the CDMA is Verizon and GSM is Sprint. I know in my area the CDMA or Verizon network towers work better in my area. My phone is on the Sprint network with Ting but they have both options which is nice. I think at the time they only had the GSM iphone 4 to buy and I bought it at 87.00 which is decent way to go when trying out a new carrier. They said it would work in my area and it did. I am pretty impressed with Ting so far. Support is excellent. They are actually moving into small towns in the U.S. and offering better dsl rates. I just wished they come to my area but they are slowly doing this with cooperation with local towns etc. Finally someone is going to make the market competitive. My next phone will be a CDMA on the Verizon network with Ting. Yes the sprint phone could also be contributing to poor sound, but clearly the 4 has lousy speakers of all the iphones : /
Well Neil you are way smarter than me with all this tech stuff. I do what I can. I think I posted I was 40 when I took the class but realized I was about 45. I remember both my teachers looking at me like what is she doing here. But when they saw how good I was with the hardware one of them said “We are going to make a geek of you yet”. I never pursued the test for it. It was right when they were about to change the OS in a big way and an complete game changer. I was very disappointed they didn’t cover open source programs or Apple. I thought they should have called it a MS A+certificate. I also didn’t really fit in with the demographics of that sector. I volunteered for schools to help out but found it was not that supportive for older women. I spent more time chasing a guy who was ADHD and trying to get him to slow down and think before he pulled things on the servers willy nilly. He had no patience to research before just doing stuff. It can be expensive working that way. I wasn’t that smart but I was smart enough to be more careful. I don’t think I fit into that mindset, its a younger guy thing and I found it to be kind of territorial in a way. Not collaborative.
I may not like streaming to but I am going to play around with it to see what is possible and how much I can improve the situation without spending a ton of money. It’s too soon to say for sure if Resound is the entire answer here for me but I have liked the way they have trail blazed a more affordable approach. I may have to set up a pros and cons spreadsheet to this since Costco and Resound are not really laying it out really well for consumers.
Neil I wonder if your son’s phones are on different networks, one phone is a GSM and the other a CDMA? I think the CDMA is Verizon and GSM is Sprint. I know in my area the CDMA or Verizon network towers work better in my area. My phone is on the Sprint network with Ting but they have both options which is nice. I think at the time they only had the GSM iphone 4 to buy and I bought it at 87.00 which is decent way to go when trying out a new carrier. They said it would work in my area and it did. I am pretty impressed with Ting so far. Support is excellent. They are actually moving into small towns in the U.S. and offering better dsl rates. I just wished they come to my area but they are slowly doing this with cooperation with local towns etc. Finally someone is going to make the market competitive. My next phone will be a CDMA on the Verizon network with Ting. Yes the sprint phone could also be contributing to poor sound, but clearly the 4 has lousy speakers of all the iphones : /
Well Neil you are way smarter than me with all this tech stuff. I do what I can. I think I posted I was 40 when I took the class but realized I was about 45. I remember both my teachers looking at me like what is she doing here. But when they saw how good I was with the hardware one of them said “We are going to make a geek of you yet”. I never pursued the test for it. It was right when they were about to change the OS in a big way and an complete game changer. I was very disappointed they didn’t cover open source programs or Apple. I thought they should have called it a MS A+certificate. I also didn’t really fit in with the demographics of that sector. I volunteered for schools to help out but found it was not that supportive for older women. I spent more time chasing a guy who was ADHD and trying to get him to slow down and think before he pulled things on the servers willy nilly. He had no patience to research before just doing stuff. It can be expensive working that way. I wasn’t that smart but I was smart enough to be more careful. I don’t think I fit into that mindset, its a younger guy thing and I found it to be kind of territorial in a way. Not collaborative.
I may not like streaming to HAs but I am going to play around with it to see what is possible and how much I can improve the situation without spending a ton of money. It’s too soon to say for sure if Resound is the entire answer here for me but I have liked the way they have trail blazed a more affordable approach. I may have to set up a pros and cons spreadsheet to this since Costco and Resound are not really laying it out really well for consumers.
Goosebumps, it is never too old to learn new tricks. I was aerospace for 20+ years, a jig and fixture builder, a.k.a.Toolmaker. Got tired of being laid off and was in my 40’s when I switched to my hobby, computers, as an occupation. Went from hobby to level 5 tech support for memory and modems with CompTia A+ certification and 3 Microsoft server certs. Current company 13 years now building servers and fixing MS-SQL issues and teaching people how to use our databasing program and fixing their mistakes with them and behind the scenes, back door as we call it. We do elections databasing in CA (our home state), IL, and WA states. I am a technology freak all the way, can’t get enough of it. Ha! Was on a business trip to train some elections staff and in Reno airport they said they didn’t have the rental car I ordered and offered me a free upgrade to a Prius. When I picked it up the guy said" Most ‘older’ folk don’t like them because they are too technical. Would I like something else?" I told him give me the damn driving computer and I’ll be just fine. Couldn’t wait to get off of the airport to pull off at he first exit, a truck stop,to read the owners manual to see how everything worked and what I had to play with. I LOVED the Prius. Wanted to get one next time around but it didn’t fit my lifestyle. I needed a bigger SUV to get around with my racing dog, a Whippet, and all of the racing gear. At 69 we still go racing on weekends, straight track and oval track. And I spend the whole day running around and handling my breeder’s dogs as well as helping others box and catch dogs as needed.
My older son’s two iPhones are on different networks. I just know his personal iPhone 6+ is on the lousy T-Mobile network, don’t know what his company’s network is on. I swear by Verizon myself and have been with them a good number of years now. I used to carry my company’s 24/7 support phone on an AT&T network and walk up and down the sidewalk when a support call came in asking “Can you hear me now?” Our VP saw how great my old phone worked back then while on a business trip when his own AT&T phone couldn’t hold a call and I said “here, try mine.” My company switched to Verizon shortly after and has been with them ever since, about 12 years now. My wife working for FedEx gets a decent professional courtesy discount on our Verizon service. All through California and Washington state I have never had a problem with the Verizon system … except in one area … Markleeville in Alpine County, near Lake Tahoe, up in the High Sierras … very high, like 8,000 foot level. No cell phones work there at all.
But I don’t know about way smarter … don’t put yourself down, you sound quite competent yourself.
Goosebumps, it is never too old to learn new tricks. I was aerospace for 20+ years, a jig and fixture builder, a.k.a.Toolmaker. Got tired of being laid off and was in my 40’s when I switched to my hobby, computers, as an occupation. Went from hobby to level 5 tech support for memory and modems with CompTia A+ certification and 3 Microsoft server certs. Current company 13 years now building servers and fixing MS-SQL issues and teaching people how to use our databasing program and fixing their mistakes with them and behind the scenes, back door as we call it. We do elections databasing in CA (our home state), IL, and WA states. I am a technology freak all the way, can’t get enough of it. Ha! Was on a business trip to train some elections staff and in Reno airport they said they didn’t have the rental car I ordered and offered me a free upgrade to a Prius. When I picked it up the guy said" Most ‘older’ folk don’t like them because they are too technical. Would I like something else?" I told him give me the damn driving computer and I’ll be just fine. Couldn’t wait to get off of the airport to pull off at he first exit, a truck stop,to read the owners manual to see how everything worked and what I had to play with. I LOVED the Prius. Wanted to get one next time around but it didn’t fit my lifestyle. I needed a bigger SUV to get around with my racing dog, a Whippet, and all of the racing gear. At 69 we still go racing on weekends, straight track and oval track. And I spend the whole day running around and handling my breeder’s dogs as well as helping others box and catch dogs as needed.
My older son’s two iPhones are on different networks. I just know his personal iPhone 6+ is on the lousy T-Mobile network, don’t know what his company’s network is on. I swear by Verizon myself and have been with them a good number of years now. I used to carry my company’s 24/7 support phone on an AT&T network and walk up and down the sidewalk when a support call came in asking “Can you hear me now?” Our VP saw how great my old phone worked back then while on a business trip when his own AT&T phone couldn’t hold a call and I said “here, try mine.” My company switched to Verizon shortly after and has been with them ever since, about 12 years now. My wife working for FedEx gets a decent professional courtesy discount on our Verizon service. All through California and Washington state I have never had a problem with the Verizon system … except in one area … Markleeville in Alpine County, near Lake Tahoe, up in the High Sierras … very high, like 8,000 foot level. No cell phones work there at all.
But I don’t know about way smarter … don’t put yourself down, you sound quite competent yourself.
Thanks Neil. Personally I would love to have a google car and sit in the backseat and play on a tablet or watch something streaming on the back of the front seats. Then be drop me off in front of the destination and then have it park itself
; ) I want a google car now and I want everyone else to have one too so they all will keep from hitting each other! I just don’t think I will be around long enough to experience it.
I’m up in Washington and am 59 yrs old but feel older. My ears were first tested when I was 54 but I think I struggled for years earlier with the hearing loss but finally got them checked at 54 after a doc actually listened to me and read between the lines. I really thought I was too young to be worried about hearing. I really think we should all have our hearing tested at certain increments as adults part of the over all health check like mammograms for women for example. Since very few insurance companies actually have any hearing aid coverage they avoid the whole conversation very conveniently. This has got to change. Why I have acupuncture coverage and not hearing is just negligent on healthcare provider in my book. It is not an oversight but deliberate. If they really did go all in they could pressure these companies to actually be more competitive.
With the response I got from Resound I just don’t have a lot of confidence that android apps for Resound are going to be streaming just around the corner. If I am in a noisy area and I get a call I think I will want the option to stream the call to my ears. That gives iphone the advantage. Not a fan but that is the reality.
Well I looked up Resound and they are a group from Denmark. I had wondered if the reason Resound had a whole new look and approach was due to maybe Apple buying them out or investing and giving them the money to go bigger, but it looks like the Resound group is big enough on their own.
Now that the word is out that Apple will have wireless earphones that makes me wonder if Resounds is making or helped Apple in their approach to new wireless headphones for the iphone 7 or pro? I doubt it is a coincidence.
The app for iphone earphones may be the same or similar to the KS6 iphone app.
I also wonder if the head phones will look like Resound HAs since they are discreet rather than a big bulking headphone on the head or bulky earbuds? Apple is all about design. If so, no one will be able to tell if we are using wireless headphones or HAs this coming year since many will be using the new iphone wireless earphones? We will begin to blend in with everyone else. This might help gets some folks off the fence and get HAs too since they won’t look old with HAs. Or it might be another way that some with hearing loss who can’t afford expensive HAs to supplement their hearing loss with cheaper earphones that stream but still allow you to hear noises around you in the meantime? I think if the price point is right it could be a good thing. May not be optimum but a work around just the same. I have used other work arounds up to now like better speakers for tv etc.
But the KS6 price point for HAs would be too high for iphone earphones I would think so they will need a simpler version.
That will be a switch for HA users if every one will want to wear wireless ear pieces just like us : ) Here is what someone thinks the new iphone earphones may look like:
With our KS6 we are able to hear other sounds besides what is sent thru the ear piece from what I can tell. I think that would be a better design than something that blocks out all sound when playing music or talking on phone for safety reasons and you can wear them all the time much like the google glasses thing. If you are able to wear them all the time you are less likely to misplace them. Especially as I age I am a tad more forgetful.
My husband likes to wear those earphones that hook onto the ear with Sansa since they are more comfortable than the ear buds. The problem with that is he can’t hear a thing I am saying to him when he is working in the yard. I have learned to unplug things he is working with to get him to look up or throw things in front of his view to get his attention. Sometimes this is a better approach than startling him by tapping him on the shoulder when he is using power tools etc. He never wears them out in public since he feels they block out too much sound when he is listening to music or the radio. I just wonder if Resound is going to make a cheaper earphone version for folks for wireless use for those with good hearing that will pair with the iphone where folks can still hear what is going on around them? A resound for everyone in the family?
I think we should see even more improvements with all this from Resound now that Apple is making a bigger push towards wireless earphones. Having such big players like Apple pushing for better technology that is integrated will only help us all in the long run. They will want better chipsets and at lower costs and Resound will be watching and adjusting too.
Hypothetical for sure but I think it is helpful sometimes to stand back and look at the bigger pictures of what is going on. I bet other HA companies will also want to get on the band wagon too with streaming and apps if they want to hold onto their market share and look hip and have all the features people will expect. I am not sure if any other brands of HAs are doing the streaming with apps on cell phones yet like Resound and Apple. Does anyone know? It may help bring prices down for all earphones and HAs and get android phones to get specific HA apps made so there are more choices. They will come to the party, albeit late.
Goosebumps, I’m not sure, but I think the iPhone headphones or whatever they’ll call them will be that Beats company. In fact, I see that Beats by Dr. Dre, some rap star, says it is now part of Apple? At my age, rap is garbage, give me 60’s rock, 50’s even. So Resound won’t be part of that. But a bunch or years back my company bought us all wireless headphones for our desk phones and they were Resound.
WA eh? My favorite client is up there. I spent 3 full weeks training San Juan County in our program. WOW!!! 3 weeks getting paid to stay on a resort island!!! The office manager and his wife took me out on their small boat and dropped anchor off a small island for a wine and cheese luncheon. Loved it up there, especially my stay in Juniper House, a B&B in Friday Harbor … what a beautiful place! King County just joined us recently, and I’ve been in Pend Orielle, Chelan, Cowlitz, Lewis, Pacific, Grays Harbor, Grant, and another one or two training staff. Whatcom has been with us as long as I’ve been with the company, and Spokane has been with us for years. Walla-Walla is another of our counties. Have some Whippet racing friends up there too that come down and join us on occasion for race events.
When people hear what these KS6’s do with my iPhone, they want to get them too LOL You can’t beat that direct streaming of phone calls with a stick.
I have the KS6 and love them. I have two friends that I recommended go to Costco for them - one in Florida and one in Connecticut and both were convinced to go with a Bernafon at $2600 per pair rather than $1800. This is curious. Is Bernafon the flavor of the month? I do see that Bernafon’s claim to fame is a patented technique called ‘channel free’ where they say they can continuously change amplitude/gain over the whole hearing curve rather than just in channels where all the other manufacturers have a channel race to the top. I believe KS6 has 17 channels. Rexton has 42 channels. I have also read that anything over 12 channels brings nothing to the party. It seems to me that if you have a high frequency hearing loss, say above 3000 hz, you’d want a similar amplitude/gain over the whole range 3000 hz+. I love to hear comments from those of you with Audiologist background.
Larry, I went to two Costco’s, I wanted to trial the KS6 and the first one pushed the Trax 42 at me and didn’t have the KS6 in stock to try. She also seemed lost on programming the Trax. So I went to a 2nd Costco, one nearer my home than nearer my business and the there totally loved the KS6 and said that the Trax 42 sounded tinny to him and that he couldn’t that out of them. He was perfect on programming the KS6 though. The first one kept telling me that the Trax cost $1,000 more but that she did not get commission on what she sold, not that I ever asked her or mentioned that even. The 2nd guy said that he could program any aid/brand just as good which lead to no real reason to spend a lot more. I put my faith in him and wow did he ever come through! As for the comments you’re looking for, I’ll leave that to the audi’s in here. I just know that pair #4 hearing aids in my time using aids, the KS6 are the best I’ve had so far.
Larry, I went to two Costco’s, I wanted to trial the KS6 and the first one pushed the Trax 42 at me and didn’t have the KS6 in stock to try. She also seemed lost on programming the Trax. So I went to a 2nd Costco, one nearer my home than nearer my business and the HIS there totally loved the KS6 and said that the Trax 42 sounded tinny to him and that he couldn’t that out of them. He was perfect on programming the KS6 though. The first one kept telling me that the Trax cost $1,000 more but that she did not get commission on what she sold, not that I ever asked her or mentioned that even. The 2nd guy said that he could program any aid/brand just as good which lead to no real reason to spend a lot more. I put my faith in him and wow did he ever come through! As for the comments you’re looking for, I’ll leave that to the audi’s in here. I just know that pair #4 hearing aids in my time using aids, the KS6 are the best I’ve had so far.
I agree with you Neilk, I have the LinX2 which is basically the same as KS6 and love them. Makes me wonder though if people with differing types of hearing loss get better performance from different AIDS - what suits one type of loss may not suit another. Point is I absolutely love the music steaming on the LinX, others say it sounds real tinny. I am not anal about music just a keen listener so do like a little quality. I tried the equivalent of the Trax 42 here and thought they actually sounded terribly squeaky, so could be horses for courses.
I have the KS6 and love them. I have two friends that I recommended go to Costco for them - one in Florida and one in Connecticut and both were convinced to go with a Bernafon at $2600 per pair rather than $1800. This is curious. Is Bernafon the flavor of the month? I do see that Bernafon’s claim to fame is a patented technique called ‘channel free’ where they say they can continuously change amplitude/gain over the whole hearing curve rather than just in channels where all the other manufacturers have a channel race to the top.
Hi,
I have the Bernafon Juna 9, and I like it very much. To put it simple: Yes, they use a different approach, and if you are not happy with the standard approach, then it´s good that there is a different one to try. Here in Germany, there is a site run by an audi who says that he fits Bernafon aids for musical people very often. The channelfree technique leads to a more “analog” sound. However, there are different people who say that they understand nothing with Bernafon when there is Speech-in-speech-noise. I don´t have problems with that, so it depends on your personal hearing preferences.
For me, Bernafon is superior to all other aids I tested for:
soft speech
understanding TV
live music
In case someone wants to try Bernafon for a comparison, I suggest to use nal-nl2 for the first fit. If your hearing isn´t very bad (mild to moderate loss), you also might want to turn soft-noise-management to 0. See my thread about the bernafon juna for details.
As for the high frequency loss: Usually, your hearing drops with raising frequency, so the amplification has to rise with rising frequency. More channels are good if the drop of your hearing is very steep or / and very sudden. The channels are not only relevant for frequency adaption, but also for compression. You can adjust the compression for each channel independently. This has advantages, for listening to speech in low-frequency noise, for instance. But it has disadvantages, because then the sound can easily get unbalanced in certain situations.
Anyway, Bernafon aids sound different, so in my opinion, they are worth a try.
I have the Bernafon Juna 9, and I like it very much. To put it simple: Yes, they use a different approach, and if you are not happy with the standard approach, then it´s good that there is a different one to try. Here in Germany, there is a site run by an audi who says that he fits Bernafon aids for musical people very often. The channelfree technique leads to a more “analog” sound. However, there are different people who say that they understand nothing with Bernafon when there is Speech-in-speech-noise. I don´t have problems with that, so it depends on your personal hearing preferences.
For me, Bernafon is superior to all other aids I tested for:
soft speech
understanding TV
live music
In case someone wants to try Bernafon for a comparison, I suggest to use nal-nl2 for the first fit. If your hearing isn´t very bad (mild to moderate loss), you also might want to turn soft-noise-management to 0. See my thread about the bernafon juna for details.
As for the high frequency loss: Usually, your hearing drops with raising frequency, so the amplification has to rise with rising frequency. More channels are good if the drop of your hearing is very steep or / and very sudden. The channels are not only relevant for frequency adaption, but also for compression. You can adjust the compression for each channel independently. This has advantages, for listening to speech in low-frequency noise, for instance. But it has disadvantages, because then the sound can easily get unbalanced in certain situations.
Anyway, Bernafon aids sound different, so in my opinion, they are worth a try.
Thank you for your explanation. Quite illuminating. I thought it was that Bernafon took an analog approach. I remember in the old days of stereo when digital processors were first coming around, there were ‘audiophiles’ that insisted the analog approach was a more natural sound. I am a first time user and did not have the chance to compare different models as I sort of insisted on the KS6. I did not want to spend more money being a first time user and unsure that I would wear them long term. Anyway, it worked out great for me. I have four programs: All Around, Restaurant, Music, and All Around but set up with Soft Switching. The Music program is great when I listen to music. I don’t know how the programming is set up internally, but it works great with no whistle or feedback. Naturally, the fidelity can’t compare to a good set of headphones.
I’m new to , I’ve been reading different post here. My Audi is telling me to get the Oticon Nera2 or the Widex Unique 220 or 330.
I am stronging leaning toward going to Costco because of the 180 day trial period vs 45 day trail period + a restocking fee at the Audi.
I also have Tinnitus (ring in the ears). None of the Costco brands make mension in their litterature that they take care of Tinnitus.
Can someone enlighten me about hearing aids and Tinnitus?
As you know there is a big difference in the cost.
there are hearing aids with tinnitus maskers. As far as I know, the costco aids do not have them.
Sometimes using hearing aids reduces tinnitus even without a tinnitus masker. Sometimes, the tinnitus masker helps, and there are cases where none of the two help.
For me, it was like this:
for a week or two, my tinnitus got even worse
then my tinnitus improved, went down to a level where it was some five years ago
So you could try costco aids and see if your tinnitus improves. If not, you can give them back and try if the tinnitus masker of Oticon or Widex helps.
My aids are set up not to reduce soft noise, like the fan of my pc or street noise in the distance. This way I always hear some noise, this is my personal tinnitus masker. It´s not normal for the ear to hear nothing at all.
In case you are going to try the Bernafon Juna at costco, write me a pm.
Unless someone has a serious confidence problem I don’t understand why it would take 6 months to decide if you like a certain aid. If an can’t get the aid right in 3 months why waste your time screwing around 3.
I’m new to HA, I’ve been reading different post here. My Audi is telling me to get the Oticon Nera2 or the Widex Unique 220 or 330.
I am stronging leaning toward going to Costco because of the 180 day trial period vs 45 day trail period + a restocking fee at the Audi.
I also have Tinnitus (ring in the ears). None of the Costco brands make mension in their litterature that they take care of Tinnitus.
Can someone enlighten me about hearing aids and Tinnitus?
As you know there is a big difference in the cost.
there are hearing aids with tinnitus maskers. As far as I know, the costco aids do not have them.
Sometimes using hearing aids reduces tinnitus even without a tinnitus masker. Sometimes, the tinnitus masker helps, and there are cases where none of the two help.
For me, it was like this:
for a week or two, my tinnitus got even worse
then my tinnitus improved, went down to a level where it was some five years ago
So you could try costco aids and see if your tinnitus improves. If not, you can give them back and try if the tinnitus masker of Oticon or Widex helps.
My aids are set up not to reduce soft noise, like the fan of my pc or street noise in the distance. This way I always hear some noise, this is my personal tinnitus masker. It´s not normal for the ear to hear nothing at all.
In case you are going to try the Bernafon Juna at costco, write me a pm.
My aids have the tinnitus masker built into them and from my perspective it really helps. I have never tried them without the tinnitus masker activated but I have the attitude that if it works stay with it. I definitely hear my tinnitus more after I remove my aids at night before going to bed.
I’m new to HA, I’ve been reading different post here. My Audi is telling me to get the Oticon Nera2 or the Widex Unique 220 or 330.
I am stronging leaning toward going to Costco because of the 180 day trial period vs 45 day trail period + a restocking fee at the Audi.
I also have Tinnitus (ring in the ears). None of the Costco brands make mension in their litterature that they take care of Tinnitus.
Can someone enlighten me about hearing aids and Tinnitus?
As you know there is a big difference in the cost.
I have the KS6 and they do not have a tinnitus masker. But when I wear them, I do not notice my tinnitus. I do when I take them off. Also, I have downloaded tinnitus makers and listen to them for about 1/2 hr now and then (should do it every night) and it improves the ability to ignore the noise. For me it’s like a high pitch ring and also rushing water.
Hi I have tinnitus in my right ear and when i first got my Resound Verso’s, (the model before the Linx which is the KS6 is based on) my tinnitus also got worse. Also i found that in Bi Naural or right ear focus mode, i had a small amount of background hiss, in very quiet situations. I originally could not bear this and thought this was wrong as my tinnitus got worse focusing on the bad ear. For nearly a year i switched my focus ear to the left, backed off all the settings and lived with compromised speech in sound performance. However 2 years down the line i have now actually switched back to the original arrangement, using Bi-Naural set up and use the background noise as a tinnitus masker), it actually works very well with my tinnitus reduced almost to 0 in 90% of situations.
As Music man says, don’t be afraid to try the costco units, even if they do not have a tinnitus masker built in.
I did trial of 5 different aids (including a 6 month long term trial of the Resound Lin2) and for my loss (see audio-gram double bite loss, or middle section only good) i actually found the Trax42 the very best of the Cosco aids (for me) at speech in sound. It was actually better than my Verso’s. Unfortunately i had already purchased the Versos at (nearly 5k or $8000, with accessories and support). So will have to wait and save up for my next aids. I can assure you for my next set i will definitely be trialing the Costco brand. It may be 1 generation behind the very best out there, but ask yourself this, do you really need the latest up to date technology and the normally higher price that independent outlets usually charge. If you do not need to programmed yourself (Costco software is locked to them) its a no brain-er.
.
For reference, my Vers’o cost £3500 a pair (5k with accessories and support), the newer Linx2 (one model and two software generations on) now cost £2800 per pair.
In practice (when comparing top end aids) I have found that its the programming and support that make (or break) the experience, not necessarily the price of the aids.
High cost does not necessarily = the best, a bad audi can make the best and or most expensive aids sound like rubbish. A good audi is a friend for life.
Regards Ian
(aQUOTE=Musician_72;136602]Hi,
there are hearing aids with tinnitus maskers. As far as I know, the costco aids do not have them.
Sometimes using hearing aids reduces tinnitus even without a tinnitus masker. Sometimes, the tinnitus masker helps, and there are cases where none of the two help.
For me, it was like this:
for a week or two, my tinnitus got even worse
then my tinnitus improved, went down to a level where it was some five years ago
So you could try costco aids and see if your tinnitus improves. If not, you can give them back and try if the tinnitus masker of Oticon or Widex helps.
My aids are set up not to reduce soft noise, like the fan of my pc or street noise in the distance. This way I always hear some noise, this is my personal tinnitus masker. It´s not normal for the ear to hear nothing at all.
In case you are going to try the Bernafon Juna at costco, write me a pm.
I just did a hearing test at Costco and now considering between Resound Sola 8, Bernafon Juna 9, and Kirkland Signature 6. Discovered this forum and thread online researching. Currently, I am wearing Resound VS50-P from Costco in 2011.
Audiometry 4/29/16
F 250 500 1k 2k 4k 8k
L 70 65 80 90 90 90
R 70 70 80 90 90 95
110-120
L44 R52
This test result reflects an increased loss average of 5-10 and I really struggled with the word test this time. The change in headsets from over the ear to in the ear buds may have been one factor. But there is no denying the fact that my loss appears to have finally to become slightly worse since it was diagnosed at age 4. I plan to retest again at Costco and at Connect Hearing before selecting a new set.
Thanks to everyone for participating and providing a great discussion with useful information!
I just did a hearing test at Costco and now considering between Resound Sola 8, Bernafon Juna 9, and Kirkland Signature 6. Discovered this forum and thread online researching. Currently, I am wearing Resound VS50-P ITE from Costco in 2011.
Audiometry 4/29/16
F 250 500 1k 2k 4k 8k
L 70 65 80 90 90 90
R 70 70 80 90 90 95
UCL 110-120
WRS L44 R52
This test result reflects an increased loss average of 5-10 dB and I really struggled with the word test this time. The change in headsets from over the ear to in the ear buds may have been one factor. But there is no denying the fact that my loss appears to have finally to become slightly worse since it was diagnosed at age 4. I plan to retest again at Costco and at Connect Hearing before selecting a new HA set.
Thanks to everyone for participating and providing a great discussion with useful information!
you need to learn about widex’s audibility extender frequency lowering technology. your loss is worse than kannon8833’s but you can probably learn a lot from kannon8833’s experience here. Hearing Aid Forum - Active Hearing Loss Community
no other frequency lowering technology can help you as the lowest point they can get to is 1 kHz. that’s above your hearing range. widex audibility extender can copy active sound below 630 Hz. this is about where you hearing range ends. so you can go from hearing up to somewhere between 500 Hz and 1 kHz to hearing up to 8 kHz.
you can get the widex unique or the older and possibly cheaper widex dream line. or you may have to go for the power aid called super. the super I believe have audibility extender only as a manual program. the other line have them in the automatic program which would be more convenient.
hearingrevolution.comtruehearing.comziphearing.com call them and get a price quote. no single aid should cost more than 3 k. trial should be around 30 days. and penalty for not buying around $300. confirm everything over the phone before you go.
Thank you very much! I will certainly read about kannon8833 and have a look at the Widex.
Costco Kirkland 6.0: Just purchased these, first time user. Absolutely based on the Resound Linx. A few differences in the Costco version. I absolutely love the fact that I can select and adjust the programs with my iPhone. I cannot imagine ever owning hearing aids that are not user tunable. In addition, the ability to modify the volume, treble and bass of a program and then save it as a favorite is simply the best. I guess the icing on the cake is the price. At $1799 for the pair they offer so much more for the money than any other brand. The audiologist at Costco in Ann Arbor, Susan, is amazing. Some people might find the initial set-up through Settings - Accessibility on the iPhone a bit challenging, but once you explore all the settings it is pretty intuitive.
