Hearing Aids for audiophiles?

RDSChicago said:
I have used Phonak for years and am trying Oticon aids now. Being deaf in one ear I use a type of aid called a bicros. It has a microphone on the dead ear side which transmits the sound into the other ear’s aid. Other good brands include Starkey, Resound, Siemens and Widex. Oticon just came out with the first bicros aids to enable streaming music and phone calls directly to the aids from an iPhone or Android phone. It’s really terrific as the music or phone call is sent directly to the aids so no need to hold a phone to your ear during a call and no extraneous noise between Tidal music and my ears! Both brands have rechargeable aids but I’ve gotten use to batteries. They only need to be changed around once per week. Hearing aids to me make the music more crystalline, for lack of a better description. I cannot function without them and those around me are thankful I have them. For me, one unfortunate drawback, even with the latest digital technology, is that they are still terrible in crowds or where there is a lot of background noise. I tend to do better without aids in this situation. perhaps this deficit is due to the fact that I don’t hear binaurally, ie, in both ears. However, in all other listening environments, they are indispensable. If you or your loved ones notice your hearing isn’t what it used to be (for example, your wife complains you’re turning up the volume on the TV too high), you owe it to yourself to go first to an ENT for a thorough exam, and then, if your physician informs you that you would benefit from hearing aids, to a licensed audiologist to be fit for hearing aids. under state law, they have to give you a 30 day trial period, so you can make sure the ones you purchase are right for you. It takes your brain a week or so to get used to hearing aids, so even though they will at first seem very unnatural (for example you’ll hear your own voice and it will sound strange to you), after you adjust to them, you’ll find them to be indispensable.

They are quite small and virtually unnoticeable to others, even if you believe everyone is looking at them in your ears. They aren’t. In any event, vanity should take a backseat to functionality every time! And believe me, your friends and family will appreciate you more for being able to hear them versus having them think you’re ignoring them or having them have to shout to get your attention!

As to hearing aids being expensive, they cost a fraction of what many of us spend on audio components. Meaning no offense to those of you in the audio industry, what’s more important, having a $20,000 amplifier or a $5,000 pair of hearing aids that enable you to hear sufficiently and function better in life?

Hope this helps those of you considering hearing aids.
Click to expand...
RDSChicago this is fantastic information. Thanks for this post!
 
One thing about cost, My VSP (vision) insurance "VSP® Vision Care members can save up to 60% on the latest brand-name hearing aids. Dependents and even extended family members are eligible for exclusive savings, too.". That sure helped with my wife's hearing aids.
 
Hi Larry,

I’m going to agree with Morgan (MPW). Use the hearing aids to improve your daily quality of life but take them out and use DSP correction for your high-end audio listening. It will sound much better than the hearing aids, which are optimized for speech clarity but not for high-end audio listening. DSP will provide the frequency correction you need while retaining sound quality. You can always defeat the DSP when friends come over for a listening session.

Best of Luck,
Ken
 
Morgan (MPW)......Not blasphemy at all. When I worked building audio systems for high end corporate jet aircraft, one of our clients had profound hearing loss. I worked with his audiologist to create a custom equalizer curve that was the inverse of his hearing loss.

The end result just blew him away. He was so happy we was literally in tears. I made a duplicate equalizer for his home stereo. He said it never sounded better.

This was before DSP was easy to implement so I think much more can be done today.
 
Last edited:
W9TR said:
Morgan (MPW)......Not blasphemy at all. When I worked building audio systems for high end corporate jet aircraft, one of our clients had profound hearing loss. I worked with his audiologist to create a custom equalizer curve that was the inverse of his hearing loss.

The end result just blew him away. He was so happy we was literally in tears. I made a duplicate equalizer for his home stereo. He said it never sounded better.

This was before DSP was easy to implement so I think much more can be done today.
Click to expand...

Tom, your post is very interesting. When we talked to audiologists at our local medical school (UCSF), they told us that the hearing aids they used and the programs for those hearing aids are designed for restoring speech comprehension, and aren't designed for audiophiles. They typically work in the mid range to lower high range (well below 10K).

I had a strange thing happen to me with my hearing aids. I got my first pair about six years ago (from Costco) when I was noticing a lot of interference from background noise when I was trying to listen to a speech from near the back of the audience. The back door of the room was open and their were kids playing outside. I had lost particular acuity in my left ear and couldn't hear much above 8K, with reduced acuity. My right ear was better, maybe over 10K. I did a bit better at concerts when I wore my hearing aids, but it got much better when I switched to UCSF and higher end devices (fortunately my medicare supplement covers most of the cost of the hearing aids.) I did have them adjust the response to be able to go above 10K for music. This went on for a few years.

Then one day, while I was listening to the hifi at home, I took off my hearing aids and the sound was better! I plugged in my tone generator and swept up the frequency - getting closer to the tweeter to determine how high I could hear. To my amazement (shock and awe!) I could hear the 16K tone, but no higher. I went in for a test and both ears were better than before, especially my previously bad left ear.

I have stopped wearing my hearing aids. I cannot hear quite as well as when I was younger - but music is much, much better than just a few years ago. My master tapes come with test tones - so I hear the 1K, 10K, 100Hz tones with no problem. Some come with additional tones at 12K and 15K. I can easily hear the 12K tones at my listening seat (have to actually turn down the volume, and I can hear the 15K tone when I get close to the tweeter unit. Before this recovery, I could not hear the 10K tones in my left ear without my hearing aids.

If my hearing goes back down, I would like to see whether I can get a pair of hearing aids set with an inverse curve to my hearing loss, like Tom did for his client.

Larry
 
Larry,
Interesting that your hearing actually improved over time by using hearing aids.

It would be interesting for those that have a hearing test results to try the inverse eq curve technique. It requires an equalizer and that brings some collateral sound quality issues with it, but worth a try.
 
I use Oticon. I have 3 maps,1, full on 180 degrees, no filter, 2,slightly less top end/rolled, 3, is everything that isn't in front of me is slightly reduced to the point of treating it as mainly less important so when I am talking to someone their voice is the target. All these I use I can use with a quick app adjustment installed into the aids that I adjust through the app on my phone. To me, the experience with them is definitely a better aural gathering to what I am used to, but, sometimes I just want to be an ok boomer because Im allowed to be.
 
sharkmouth said:
I use Oticon. I have 3 maps,1, full on 180 degrees, no filter, 2,slightly less top end/rolled, 3, is everything that isn't in front of me is slightly reduced to the point of treating it as mainly less important so when I am talking to someone their voice is the target. All these I use I can use with a quick app adjustment installed into the aids that I adjust through the app on my phone. To me, the experience with them is definitely a better aural gathering to what I am used to, but, sometimes I just want to be an ok boomer because Im allowed to be.
Click to expand...

My friend is an Audiologist for Oticon. It’s amazing how far the technology has progressed over the last 10 to 15 years.

Ken
 
Ken, totally agree. I have been lucky over the years & met some very good audiologists that have helped me immensely with my aids. Blue tooth calling, remote microphone etc with the Oticon is a great leap for the users. Alas, mine live on my desk 99% of their life.
 
Well, the verdict is in. I am enjoying my new Costco signature by Phonak hearing aids with my audio system. The audiologist programed a music frequency curve correcting my hearing loss in the high range. I have an app which controls the individual volume of each aid. It’s possible for me to dial in the volume of my lost frequencies to the point where it’s seamless.
Sort of like integrating a subwoofers volume control in your system except opposite.....like adjusting your tweeters instead. I have 2 more follow up appointments with the Audiologist to fine tune the aids. I may have him put in an alternate music frequency graph with perhaps mimicking a loudness button.
As a side note the voice programs are not usable for serious music listening. You get shrill sounds reminding me of some of Mikes tweeter descriptions..lol.....
 
A pair of cheap ones in your ear are better than high end ones with all those fancy programs sitting on your desk 99% of the time! Lol
:rolleyes:
 
A downside is that when I’m in my car and my cell rings my hearing aids, my Apple Watch, my iPhone, and my car blue tooth all ring at once! .....causing old phart panic :exciting:
 
Dguitarnut said:
A downside is that when I’m in my car and my cell rings my hearing aids, my Apple Watch, my iPhone, and my car blue tooth all ring at once! .....causing old phart panic :exciting:
Click to expand...
& you wonder why they're on my desk.... :hey::D
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top