Thank you, both.
Yes, I found that the Costco Kirkland Signature 5.0 hearing aids I had bought have to be paired to the Phone Clip+ accessory to access the iPhone (5S). (The hearing aids do not pair directly with the iPhone, the way the full-feature ReSound hearing aids apparently do, which is what I had thought originally.)
The pairing from the iPhone 5S to the Phone Clip+ is controlled by the iPhone’s "Settings"; and the ReSound Control app on the iPhone controls the pairing from the Phone Clip+ to the hearing aids. (Both pairings: 1. iPhone > Phone Clip+ and, 2. Phone Clip+ > hearing aids, must be made before the connection is complete.)
Like any hearing aid system, this one takes some getting used to, but they are nice units and I hear much better than with the less powerful cic hearing aids I used to have, from a different manufacturer.
The Phone Clip+ accessory enhances the overall hearing experience a number of ways. For instance, I stream audio from the internet through the iPhone (Spotify usually), via the Phone Clip+, directly into the hearing aids. This allows you to hear the music directly, with better quality, rather than through a set of headphones, since you’re not pumping it out through the headphone’s speakers and then re-processing the signal out of the air through your hearing aid’s microphones. It’s also a rather stealthy way to enjoy one's music. (No one knows that you're listening to music because you’re not wearing headphones or earbuds.) But they also might think you're ignoring them if they try to speak to you, 'cause you won't hear them.
This is also the accessory you use to pair the hearing aids to the iPhone, to use as a phone. (There is a microphone within the accessory that picks up your voice for the conversation, and the accessory can be clipped to your neckline or hand-held by your mouth.)
I also have the Clip On Microphone accessory, which is a different accessory than the Phone Clip+ (and sometimes the two conflict at inopportune times), and can be used to enhance speech of the person across from you in the restaurant (they clip it to their neckline), or it can be put on the table near the primary speaker in a board meeting, or as I did this past weekend, aimed it at the screen in the movie theater, and it enhanced the dialogue to an acceptable level.
But my primary use of the Clip On Microphone accessory is at work, where I have it connected to the line out of my telephone, and then I pair it via the remote control (this accessory does not pair through the iPhone as does the Phone Clip+.) And with the Bluetooth connection into my hearing aids; and the various volume controls I have (within the phone, as a separate line out control my boss purchased for me, and the control inherent to the hearing aids themselves); I get very good sound quality. It just takes several seconds to get everything paired, but it becomes automatic after a while.
And, like when I discreetly hear streaming music from my iPhone without headphones, here I can move around my desk with the phone headset resting on the desk if the person on the other side is speaking or if I’m on hold, because I hear everything from their side of the conversation in my hearing aids. I don’t have to pick up the headset until I need to speak because I need the headset for its microphone only. Not the headset’s speakers. (Which I can’t hear anyway because the earmold in each ear blocks that sound completely.) But again, someone watching me thinks that I’m not on the phone because the headset is resting on the desk.
Alright, one more vain, "neat" thing about earmold hearing aids—I can go to the firing range, turn off the hearing aids at the line, and get far better sound suppression than from the earmuffs everyone else uses. The earmold blocks virtually all sound that does not come through the hearing aids as processed sound.
I’m on the line with nothing visible, and the staff used to go nuts, thinking I was killing my hearing. (Too late for that, huh?) But, to placate them, and so as not to rile up the other patrons, I’ve taken to wearing the earmuffs on top of the switched-off hearing aids. Even though the earmuffs don’t aid the hearing suppression one iota.
Thanks again for helping me with my questions and good luck with your research and decision.