Going to visit Costco (Canada)

I would guess that the next release would be a Costco version of the Resound 3D since that aid has actually been released. Costco did recently release a new Rexton version, but it’s basically a KS7 in either BTE, custom or CIC with click dome. But purely guessing. I have no inside knowledge.

@jtl said:

MDB, Interesting that you mention the Brio 2 Sound Recover program. Even with my severe HF loss my Costco specialist turned that feature off because she said too often it makes things worse. I believe that is the program that moves HF to lower frequency. I am now 3 months into my HA’s and I find that I don’t wear them as much as I did in the beginning. I am retired and home most of the time so I don’t need them. I use wireless headphones to watch TV. I am going to try out the KS7’s in a month or so. My Costo HIS is 100% the Brio 2’s are the best for me because they switch programs automatically, actually I wouldn’t mind having the ability to manually change programs. Wonder what brands/models Costco will release this fall?

@MDB said:

As far as I know, the KS7s switch programs just as automatically as the Brio 2s.

How I understand it and from the Rexton fitting software: it’s not so much that it switches programs per se, but that it flips between about 5 modes in the automatic program. I think I read somewhere that other or maybe older aids would switch between actual programs. But it seems to me that the KS7 automatic program chooses one of its own internal modes on sensing the environment.
But I’m no expert.

Good question. We’ve “debated” this a fair amount. Closest to a consensus I think is Audeo V. It is available in RIC, BTE, Power BTE and ITE. I haven’t seen any strong documentation and nothing that suggests which version of Sound Recover it uses. My experience with Costco is that they did do REM, but that they had pretty loose standards (basically fine if the REM for 65db fell between the 50db and 80db curves) No testing was done regarding frequency shifting.

@Neville said: (unavailable)

What IS the Brio II? Is it the Audeo V? Does Costco have access to a product that is equivalent to the Naida V RIC? Because the Naida V line had Sound Recever 2, which is a big jump up on other frequency lowering programs. Sound Recover 1 isn’t that notable relative to other manufacturers.

As for your practitioner turning it off, while the studies are limited she’s currently on the wrong side of the literature. If she’s following preferred practice she should be running real-ear measures and with that she could verify your /s/ audibility and determine whether SR should be turned on and how strongly, after which she could at least let you judge for yourself whether you thought it was making things worse. Then again, I don’t know what the equipment is at Costco.

In terms of automatic sensing to determine which mode to select, how would an HA know the difference between a noisy restaurant vs an auditorium full of music? Sound can be undesirable noise or sound can also be desirable music. I’m curious as to what kind of smart the HA has to really know what sound is what, and what the patient really wants to hear or don’t want to hear, without the patient making the selection for themselves?

So I visited Costco today. The visit went well, the price was right, and I ordered the KS7. The fitting is in early June.

Great! I think you’ll be happy with the KS7–I am with mine. Keep us posted.