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.

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.

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.”