Costco Stops Sales of Kirkland Signature 10 (KS10) Hearing Aids
Costco has hit the pause button and possibly discontinued sales of its premier hearing aid, the Kirkland Signature 10.0 (KS10), according to numerous reports. Several online posts and sources refer to a rechargeability issue as the primary reason for the KS10 being pulled from Costco's shelves. HearingTracker reached out to Costco and they have declined to comment at this time.
HearingTracker Audiologist Matthew Allsop provides a quick update on Costco pulling the KS10 from its shelves. Closed captions are available on this video. If you are using a mobile phone, please enable captions clicking on the gear icon.
It's also possible the KS10 is in the process of being replaced by a new upcoming KS11 line. The KS10 was introduced 18 months ago by Costco in April 2021. The KS10 is manufactured by Sonova, the largest hearing aid manufacturing group in the world and the maker of Phonak and Unitron hearing aids. Sonova also produced the previous KS9 hearing aids which were launched in July 2019, meaning the KS9 had an 21-month shelf life.
However, numerous posts on the HearingTracker Forum referred to the KS10s having a rechargeability issue. For example, a post by 4mulch says:
I called my local Costco and they advised that the KS 10’s were removed because they are having charging issues. They did not think it had anything to do with a new model. They had no idea when a new model might come out.
Additionally, audiologist vlogger Cliff "Dr. Cliff" Olson, AuD, posted a short video last night saying the KS10s were discontinued and pulled from Costco's shelves due to a long-term problem related to recharging.
Two people close to the issue told HearingTracker that a gradual increase in recharging problems had been noted, but the frequency of these problems were still closer to historical norms for previous rechargeable hearing aids and not as widespread as some online posts had indicated. Nevertheless, Sonova is doing everything possible to improve the situation. It does appear that, in some cases, following the troubleshooting steps in the KS10 instruction manual (e.g., doing a "hard reset" by powering off the hearing aids) may help rectify the recharging issue.
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Costco Wholesale storefront.
Could KS11 be on the way?
Sonova recently released a new flagship hearing aid family, Phonak Lumity, and some have speculated the Lumity technology may soon find its way into the KS11. But, as one HearingTracker Forum reader pointed out, “Trying to guess who will make KS11 is like reading tea leaves…KS 5 and 6 were GN Resound, KS 7 and 8 were Rexton and KS9 and 10 were Sonova. KS11 could pretty much be any brand. Hopefully we will know soon.”
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I purchased costco k10 hearing aids about 30 days ago and am experiencing an issue that seems like the hearing aids quit working after several hours. If I place them back in the charger they start working again. Now I am finding out that costco has pulled these hearing aids. I have another appointment to address this problem after I was told during the last visit they would send them for repair. I don't know if I feel comfortable with a repair but may need to choose a different hearing aid
I just got mine 1 day ago. My audio guy at Costco says it's very random. They've done lots of tests and can find no common denominators. However there are suspicions that the problem may relate to the actual chargers. Some chargers just have a glitch he said he believes. I have seen this type issue with products like laptops. New charger fixes the issue possibly if the bad charger didn't damage some circuitry.
Recharge issue is with the charge unit and the problem of seating the HA correctly. Very unimpressed with Sig. 10s
After 2 frustrating months, I’ve come to the same conclusion. The hearing aid does not seat in the charger properly.
I also have the KS10 unit and I can confirm it is most definitely a seating problem with the charger. I have to work very carefully to make sure it seats to the charger properly, sometimes I even need to clean contacts.
Quite often I wait to see if the charging light indicates it is charging the hearing aids properly and wait because occasionally it will slip/shift and cancel the charging.
I always wiggle them and check to see that the LED is blinking. Resetting the aids by the manual does work.
I love my KS10s but the charge thing can be annoying.
If you have the app the key is to check the charge is going up when you seat them at night and if they are then you are good to go.
Best hearing aids I’ve ever owned by far, my fourth set (others are Hansatonx2 and Siemens)
Service from Costco has been absolutely top notch too, nothing ever a problem and always fixed and helpful.
Hopefully they’ll get the charger issue sorted as the aids are brilliant and basically half the price of the Phonak Paradise that they are identical to
I know they work in Paradise Chargers and have just ordered a Charge and Care case and will report back findings
A long-time wearer of Phonak BRIO-4's bought from COSTCO, I've not updated for a later and possibly better HA primarily because one's that I've liked were "RE-CHARGEABLE ONLY" and, for several reasons, I prefer Discrete Battery versions.
As promised. To confirm, bought Phonak Care and Clean charger. kS10s charge and clean/care like a charm.
All good so far.
for the default charger, install app. Seat aids, check charge is happening after 1 min. If not reseat problem aid and they work fine
seems case is manufactured badly but let’s face it everything rechargeable suffers from this in general when not seated correctly
I purchased my KS10's this last September, they are the first set of hearing aids I have purchased.
So far they work like a champ. I have had no issues. I have noticed that if Im not careful on how I place them in the charger they will not charge.
I am very pleased with everything about these hearing instruments and the care I received from Costco's Hearing Center.
If you shut your KS10 hearing aids off manually for 25 sec, ( leave off)then put them in the charger, they will then pair up with the charger, that will clear the problem with charging them. It worked great for me. I have no problems now.
What is going to happen with my warranty on my hearing aids
My KS10s stopped charging reliably after about a year of use. It was frustrating to wake up to empty hearing aids. I have been trying to troubleshoot the problem since Costco doesn't seem to be volunteering to replace them. I found that removing the rechargeable battery pack from the charger seems to help the most. I have successfully recharged my hearing aids for two nights in a row now. The battery pack had likely deteriorated to the point that it was interfering with the charging process (it no longer charges up anyways). Let me know if this solution helps you.
I received mine in September so I am within the 180 day trial period and so far no issues but I do have to pay attention when putting them in the charger because occasionally they don’t seat properly. I am concerned that there may be a problem with them and is Costco going to step up and recall them.
I doubt it....
So I just passed the 6 month window,for returns and find this out. I got screwed!
i bought ks10 September 2021. at first they were fine. but about 6 months ago they would randomly not charge over night. even though i always made sure the light was blinking before closing the lid. i took them back to costco 2 days ago. they did a hard reset. it did not help. i awoke to red lights this morning
I purchased the first pair of the KS10’s sold at my Costco HC. So just shy of 22 months since being fitted and taking delivery. I have zero issues with these hearing aids, charging or otherwise.
I have had the same charging problem as many others on this post have described. I purchased my KS10 HA just over a year ago. The thing that bothers me most is that Costco will not own up to the problem and admit some liability. I have found that I have to watch carefully when I place the HA in the charger that both yellow lights are blinking. Some times the green light on one of the HA will show thinking it is fully charged, but after using it for a few hours the next day it turns off showing red light. Costco has exchanged them once including the charger. I have been accused of not using the official charge cord that comes with the charger and have made sure I used their cord and plug-in. This made no difference. I think Costco is shunning there responsibility here.
I have had my hearing aids over a year with all these same problems. I had them replaced once, had the same problem with the hearing aids not holding a charge. I've had the replacements sent out for repair and now they are doing the same thing. They also keep disconnecting from my phone. I wish someone would let me replace them with a different brand with a prorated cost
Does any one know what Phonak model the Kirkland 10 equals? My costco is not stocking the filters and domes.