Resound Preza from Costco

Since it is highly likely the KS9 will be released in the US while the KS8 is still available in Canada, you may want to be prepared to make a good comparison and decide which one is better. If the pattern continues there should be a price reduction on the KS9, and one would expect a step up in features. I’m not so sure it is obvious there will be a step up in features. The KS8 allows some minor customization with the app, but nothing significant. That could be where the opportunity for improvement lies.

As far as price goes, my recollection is that the KS8 was originally sold in Canada for $2000, and since introduction there has been a price increase to $2150 – possibly due to the weakening of our dollar. So it will be interesting to see where the KS9 will be priced.

I was told that Costco Canada bumped prices up exactly as you state, for dollar exchange reasons. The KS will obviously be the best deal for money but you do not want to base this decision only on price. I will look at the other options at Costco as well to see if the cost difference is worth it. Music is important to me, so that is part of the reason that I like being able to customize the aids with an app as necessary.
This forum is really helpful to gather information to make a wise choice. Thanks!

Resound is known for having the best app.

ReSound is also known for locking their Costco hearing aids to a Costco-only version of the fitting software.

I recently had molds made for my KS8 at Costco in Canada. The fitter tells me they always go back to the HA manufacturer (Rexton - Sivantos in this case) to have the molds made because they have to be made specific to each manufacturer’s receivers. In the Rexton case the impressions get sent to Ontario and the molds actually get manufactured in Holland. Each manufacturer probably has different suppliers.

I had molds made for my Rexton Trax 42s a couple of years ago. I remember the Costco audi said they could come from 2 makers, and she recommended the one she had the most customers happy with, which I think was Westone.

I had molds that I used for a while with ReSound Forte aids, and they were made by ReSound.

That’s great news.
Glad that’s working out for you.

So far. The only problem with Resound is their full molds. I specified soft and they made the hard ones which I can’t use. They were sent back, hopefully they’ll do them right this time.Using my very old, dried out, cracked ones in the meantime. I can’t handle the stone on bone feeling of the hard molds when I so much as open my mouth to talk, let alone chew on food. I don’t see how anyone can put up with that.

The theory is that it is your ear canal that is expected to give, not the molds. I just got silicone molds and have significant issues with them moving, creating noise, and changing in sealing when open and closing my mouth. If they don’t work you may want to have a discussion with your fitter about whether or not you should keep your mouth open then they take the impressions.

Thanks for covering my back Rick

Oh, and by the way, the reason for the molds is that no fitter has yet been able to overcome the feedback I get with normal tips. Yet molds work like a charm. And that includes audi’s and HIS. My current guy at Costco Yorba Linda is fantastic. He has magic fingers when it comes to programming. He was a hearing aid repair specialist before switching to installer and knows his aids and programming like the back of his hand.

He’s tried on two different aids now with no luck. He’s the first one that I have gone back to for a second pair. He gave it his all on the first pair and couldn’t get rid of the squeal. This pair he just tried on two kinds of tips before saying let’s stick with the molds.

I plan to stick with silicone molds for now, but many have good success with hard plastic. My fitter tells me that she does 95% hard plastic, and 5% silicone. I think the big issue with molds is that your ear canal length, diameter, and shape changes with jaw movement. For some it hardly changes at all and they are probably pretty tolerant of the fitting methods. For me, it seems my ears change a lot. I have a hard time understanding conversation at a meal with mine currently as they make so much noise when I chew. They make this noise whether or not the hearing aids are turned on. I suspect part of the problem is that my hearing is pretty good in the frequencies that the molds make noise in. If my hearing loss was greater in those frequencies I might not hear them moving at all. So many things are very individual with hearing aids – as I am finding out.

Looking online I finally found some info about the materials used. The hard material mine came in as was acrylic, a very hard clear plastic. That is the one that ended up lost, well not lost, but is in a safe storage place in my house, very safe … maybe one day I’ll stumble on it again. Those are the ones that caused extreme pain.

This is from a website where I found the most useful explanation “The degree and type of hearing loss certainly plays a part in any decision regarding the selection of earmold material. As a general rule, the greater the loss, the softer the material. A mild to moderate loss can be successfully addressed with a hard, yet comfortable, acrylic earmold. Severe to profound losses, however, are best served by a snug-fitting earmold with a tight acoustic seal. A soft vinyl or very soft silicone material will provide an excellent seal and will also be quite comfortable when built for a snug fit.” Hard yet comfortable is a mystery to me as if it is hard how is it comfortable?

I specified silicon though, and they came in as acrylic. I’m hoping they don’t waste much time in getting the silicon molds to me.