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Questions from a new KS10 user

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Old guy with typical old guy hearing loss starting at about 1 kHz. First time hearing aid user with the Costco KS10’s for a bit over a week. Great improvement in speech quality and I am wearing the hearing aids the entire day. They are paired with a Moto g play (2021) Android phone, Bluetooth 5.0, A2DP, LE.

After quite a bit of fiddling, I am now using Bluetooth to stream from an iPad, and iMac, and my phone as well as making and receiving calls via the hearing aids and Bluetooth. So far this is reasonably seamless with the hearing aids switching to whatever is active. Voice quality is ok.

On the Automatic Program, which the Easy Line app reverts to regularly, there is a background noise (static, buzz, white noise) that is very noticeable. I get rid of it by either (i) increasing the noise reduction to the maximum and reducing the volume, or (ii) decreasing the dynamic and reducing the volume. Either works fine, and I have both stored as programs. But the phone reverts to the Automatic Program for no apparent reason. Sometimes several times an hour. This seems to be a known universal problem with the Easy Line Remote app. But I have found no suggested solutions.

The first Costco follow up visit is in about a week. Is background static normal in hearing aids? I am expecting the hearing aids to be adjusted so the Automatic Program has no background static. Is this a reasonable expectation? Is there a downside to getting rid of the background noise?

Can anyone explain what the noise reduction and the dynamic are doing in the Easy Line App? I have a technical background, so I can converse in the frequency domain, but have no idea what these words mean in this context.

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Welcome to the Forum. If you ask these questions one at a time, using the Search function (magnifying glass icon), you’ll have immediate access to a ton of answers.

Edited

First thing! Download the new/updated (3.0.3) easyline app - it should stop your reverting back to automatic - I know it is updated (yesterday) for the iPhone - not sure about android… :smiley:

Secondly - there should be NO static/white noise at all… Only place I get that is with an active program - either it is a fault or you have telecoil active… An active telecoil program does not have the option to reduce noise so I think it may well be a fault.

Edit I am assuming your environment does not have static noise in it which the HAs are faithfully amplifying :slight_smile:

@Oz-Tack said:

there should be NO static/white noise at all

Actually it can happen, “floor noise” can be an issue for some people, this can produce static or a hiss.

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@tenkan said:

Actually it can happen, “floor noise” can be an issue for some people, this can produce static or a hiss

I understand what you mean but would think that with high frequency hearing loss either the programming is out of whack or there is a fault if it is intrusive enough to need noise reduction…at the least I think it deserves review by the specialist… I would expect modern digital aids to have a VERY LOW floor noise… happy to be corrected :smiley:

@Oz-Tack said:

I would expect modern digital aids to have a VERY LOW floor noise

Yes I agree, but for some people it just becomes something they focus on, it seems to be from some of the other posts written, that those with mild/moderate loss notice it most.
But sure,could be as simple as a faulty receiver.

Regarding floor noise. Depends on your loss. If you have very good low frequency hearing, floor noise can be noticeable. Fitter can likely make adjustments to reduce. One interesting side effect of floor noise is that it can reduce tinnitus.

In reply to @Oz-Tack

The app also updated in Android. This is a big improvement. Thanks. Also thought that the noise floor should be well below anything I can hear. Thanks for the confirmation.

In reply to @tenkan

Thanks. It is certainly a problem for me, and it is not a minor issue. Quite noticeable and draining after a period of hearing it. With the updated Easy Line app and not reverting constantly to the Automatic Program I have a solution that will at least get me to the next appointment.

In reply to @MDB

Thanks. I had a problem with tinnitus about 3 decades ago, but I think it resolved itself. I have not had an issue in years. And the static is certainly not an improvement. Quite noticeable.

Edited

In reply to @GAC

@GAC said:

I am sure I will shape up with time.

I’m sorry if I caused you to think that you need to shape up! Not at all!

All I meant by my post is that when you use the Search function, you don’t have to wait for members to reply, and you have your choice of many different “takes” on your subject of interest.

I found the feature very helpful, when I was new, is what I’m getting at.

I’m an experienced user and got ks10s in June. Sounded good in store but got them home and they were very loud and picked it every sound and drove me crazy until first checkup. I wore my old ks8 most of the time till then. I was ready to return them. Told hearing aid guy all my problems. This is what he said.

“Costco makes us use certain tuning on new aids until you complain. Now I’ll program them the way I think they should be.”

And so he did and they were soooooo much better. Only had one more adjustment and will probably keep them. That is if I can put up with the battery almost dead every night. I stream 3 to 4 hours a day and it’s iffy.

Also the EasyLine app update this week really takes care of a lot of problems.

Ask your has to program them so you don’t have to make volume adjustments every few minutes.

I think your Costco fitter’s explanation is BS. Sounds like he just did something wrong initially.

In reply to @tomnjerry

Thanks very much tomnjerry. The idea that Costco makes them tune the so the user complains would not seem to make a lot of business sense. This would drive away new customers who return hearing aids in droves. But, who knows. I have high hopes that the problems can be corrected with the next visit. I understand speech much better, TV and phone calls are OK. The correlation between hearing loss and dementia is a strong motivator for me, and I will certainly keep using HAs. But these are currently a real pain and I will certainly be looking for better solution if they are not fixed by the tuning.

I didn’t mean that they screw it up on purpose. I mean they make them program it by Costco’s rules and only change it if the customer complains. First timers Users do not know what they should sound like. I knew they needed major adjustment. I think all in all Costco does a pretty good job of getting it right. Unfortunately it takes several trips to get them adjusted. The same can be said for audiologists. I always asked for major changes anytime I got new hearing aids.

The only thing I’ve seen them do is if you’re a first time hearing aid wearer with a mild to moderate hearing loss, they sometimes set the overall gain to 80% of target to let you get use to all the new sounds and amplification for a period of time before they run them at 100%. I would imagine this practice is not exclusive to Costco however.

When I got my KS9’s that they were way too bright. I had the fitter turn them down to 80%, which sounded much better. When I upgraded to KS 10’s I worked with a different fitter and asked her to set them at 85% with no automatic changes. Is it Costco or Phonak who requires that they be set that loud?

Unless any of us work in Costco hearing aid department, we’re all (including me) speculating. My take is that Costco fitters are to do on all patients and are likely encouraged to get patients as close to full prescription as possible. If one concentrates on comfort or good sound quality, one may be depriving one of useful sounds. It’s your money though, so Costco will try to make you happy.

In reply to @lewbobski

I got my KS10s last week, and the fitter asked whether the volume level of his voice was OK. I had him lower it a couple of steps, but since then I’ve mostly used the app. to lower the volume yet another step.

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