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Any Costco members upgraded from KS10s in 2024

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4 years into KS10s and mostly satisfied with my 1st . I know the Ks10 warranty period is over and not sure of future firmware updates from Phonak. Has anyone moved on to the new Jabras or Rextons that Costco is now selling. Thank you

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I just trialed the Jabra Pro 20 and returned it because I did not believe it performed well in noise. There are are a lot of members here, however, who are very happy with the Jabra as well as the Rexton Reach. Currently there is a lot of excitement about the Phillips (Oticon) Hearlink 9050 which was just released this week. If I were buying from Costco right now, that would be my first go to aid. Good Luck.

I have KS9s and have loved them from the beginning but increasingly worry about them. Wish someone would post how the Phillips Hearlink 9050 works with Android phones, but I guess it will be awhile longer before they’ve been out long enough for reports to show up here.

Alternatively I wish Costco and Phonak would resolve whatever differences they have.

I have been wearing hearing aids for 25 years. Spent $6,500 on Phonaks audeo in 2015. Three and half years ago purchase the KS-10 for $1,500 plus TV streamer and they work perfect. A month ago my charge would only last eight hours. Software update didn’t fix problem so I paid $135 each to have Costco ship back and in 7 days received them back and charge last all day.

I am 77 and going to wait for “real” update in hearing aids or hearing health before next move. KS 10s are perfect in restaurants, driving, TV, outside, etc - Oh yes and listening to instructions from my wife and grandchildren:-)

I went to Costco with my KS10s and was advised that it was not likely that any other of their offerings would be an improvement. They reprogrammed my KS10s with marked improvement but I tried the 1050s anyway and was very disappointed. Sticking with the KS10s and with Costco.

Edited

This is exactly what I experienced when I stopped by after one of my KS-10 would not charge anymore. The warranty is in effect for another 6 months. They replaced the and reprogrammed them to different settings without telling me beforehand and now they are too hot and it didn’t help me hear any better - just more noise. When I asked why they did it they mentioned something about not being at 100% and scheduled me back for another test.

Now that I have started a new job, I’m still having a very hard time understanding all the mush-mouths in my on-site meetings and am looking for better HAs that can help me with noisy environments and more solid connectivity. When I asked about the newer offerings they told me that there would be no improvement - but the Phillips units would be comparable - but that was just before the 9050’s were announced. I may try the Phillips 9050 an my next exam.

Do you have another Costco store within a reasonable distance? I have found that that the hearing aid techs tend to be more familiar with one brand and will sometimes refuse to offer another brand even if the customer requests it. I was told, for example, that only Jabra was suitable for my hearing loss and that Rexton and Philips would not help my hearing issue. It may be time to find a different Costco.

I purchased the Philips 9040 after having the KS10s. I noticed a significant difference in speech recognition improvement with the 9040.

In reply to @arydant

When I went in Costco advised me that there was a significant software update (really firmware I believe) and they processed that before reprogramming to my hearing loss, which is very substantial. Could be that the repair resulted in the new software and Costco didn’t reprogram as necessary. Advantage I had was that I had made an appointment so they were not rushed.

Its really a chore to get others to be considrate to those us, which there’re many, who have difficult hearing. I’m slowly getting better at asking people to do a better job of being understood, and when they do everybody hears better with fewer misunderstandings by all.

My husband, who had several top brands of over the years, had his best success with the KS10’s. He was about 2 months shy of the warranty running out and the aids were not holding the charge as well as in the beginning (no three year old set of aids is likely to charge as if new, hint hint). Costco gave him a loaner pair (he asked) and sent his existing pair to the manufacturer. He got a brand new set of aids in replacement. Costco did a new hearing test, and with the help of this forum, I also armed him with some questions re the tuning of his aids. After a new fitting he honestly hears better than he has in years which is something, because his hearing slowly but surely diminishes. Has your personal warranty run out? If not, you could potentially get them replaced and tweaked and then bide your time until something else hits the market that appeals to you.

Thank you. I’m waiting to bring them in to be sent back till there is an available pair of KS10 loaners at my Costco. I actually think I may be still in the warranty period as I purchased them on my Costco credit card which had an extra 2 years at that time. I know they discontinued this a while back. It would be nice to have back up devices as it gets more difficult to be without as time goes by. Thanks again

I had the KS10s replaced under warranty then upgraded to the Rexton Reach aids. The Rexton are much better in noise and the app is also much better because you can adjust the direction of the microphones. You can turn off people behind you in restaurants etc… The Rexton sound great and work great with my iphone

I’ve been using KS10s since 2021, and punted for them instead of the P90s after reading the commentary on this forum. I had mine warranty serviced earlier this year. Box fresh KS10s came back, with a new charging case and even the used-from-eBay battery pack I’d bought was swapped for a new one. Zero issues since.

I didn’t need loaners this time as I have M70s from the NHS here in the UK. Previously, during the recharge issue, Costco got me some Jabras to use instead (it was a few weeks post KS10 withdrawal). I enjoyed trying something different out but haven’t regretted the KS10s (long term Phonak user though).

My partner has the KS10s and had them replaced with the Jabra Enhance Pro 10s. She tells me she can hear ‘much’ better with the Jabras. She turned those EP 10s back in for the EP 20s and got an Android Galaxy S24 Ultra so she could get hands free, like I was experiencing with my Galaxy S23 Ultra and the EP 20s. However Samsung has updated our phones to One UI 6.1 and hands free no longer works. We are now waiting in hope for One UI 7 which is supposed to fix this…we will see. Fortunately at least you can hear through the but you can not have the phone too far from your mouth to be heard. Hands free is one thing she misses from the KS10s. The Bluetooth connectivity with the protocol works pretty well for us and we have not had to do much as far as turning that on and off… maybe a few times a month maybe. Knock on wood but we have had none of the issues of late that others have had.

I’m 4 years into KS9’s, and absolutely loved the Phonak connectivity with iPhone. I’m worried about these other brands because someone is always complaining about connectivity. I’m going to move forward with one of the 3 Costco offerings this Fall, but honestly can’t tell which is best from this forum.

@Ed_R1 said:

I’m going to move forward with one of the 3 Costco offerings this Fall, but honestly can’t tell which is best from this forum.

Since most members of the forum have an opinion based on their individual choice, you will not get a very neutral opinion.
I suggest going to the forum main page, and clicking on the Hearing Aids link at the top left of the page.
You’ll find professional reviews, and specs for all the costco options, and you can make a preferred choice.
The costco may try to steer you to the brand they prefer,but the decision should be based on your needs.
Good shopping!

@flashb1024 said:

You’ll find professional reviews

Well I’d take those with a pinch of salt please ; )

@flashb1024 said:

but the decision should be based on your needs.

I’d think in this case it would be better if the decision was based on what works best for Ed after a trial, I know not always easy to do all 3 with Costco tho.

Pro reviews: What works for some people doesn’t necessarily work for all, and we know there are tremendous variations in people’s hearing loss, dimensions of hearing canal, etc. ‘Pinch of salt’ is a great metaphor, though ‘pound’ may be more appropriate that ‘pinch’.

My bet is that pros who review objectively know one size doesn’t fit all.

@flashb1024 said:

True, but 1st he should have some idea of which brand he wishes to trial, imho.

Many pros argue that the brand matters less than the skills of the fitter, I’m pretty sure that buying a brand is not the best approach, especially since manufacturers sell under so many brands.

Remember: branding aims to benefit sellers, not buyers. Branding just aims at getting buyers to buy without thinking critically.

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