Audiophile hearing aids........Can’t decide between the Nagra or Vitus or Gryphon!

Dguitarnut

Dguitarnut

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As my hearing deteriorates due to excessive sound exposure (and into my sixties now) I did a little searching for information about hearing aids and their hifi worthiness. I found a good article here: http://www.hometheaterhifi.com/volume_13_2/hearing-aids-6-2006-part-1.html

Shouldnt the purveyors of our hifi equipment be responsible for our ADDICTION to music and our consequent hearing loss? :rolleyes:
in all seriousness at least the article does reveal there are big differences in the music rendering quality and that there is hope for us when the time comes that we need one.
 
I have a significant hearing loss from an inner ear balance condition. For years, instead of wearing my hearing aids when I listened to my system I cranked the volume up, believing that wearing the aids would act as a lousy equalizer or filter which would defeat the purpose of having acquired my high-end stereo components. Boy was I wrong. First, listening at ungodly levels without the aids strongly perturbed my family, with their constantly chastising me to turn down the volume. So about a year ago I kept the hearing aids on and tried listening with them. The clarity and in particular what my ears perceived to be the crystal highs and the seemingly clearer, richer midrange I was hearing was literally an ear-opening experience for me. So my advice is that if you need a hearing aid by all means don’t let concerns about vanity or cosmetics prevent you from getting them. I assure you that your family, friends and work colleagues will appreciate that you can hear them and intelligibility communicate with them (they probably thought at times you were ignoring them when in reality you didn’t hear them or couldn’t discriminate their words completely and answered the question incorrectly in the context of which you understood what they were saying). Moreover if you need a hearing aid your audio system will sound so much better wearing them. Without wearing them you like me will not derive rather the maximum sound quality that your system offers.

Paul McGowan on PS Audio’s site has written a few articles about this subject. If anyone needs any advice on hearing aids, as a longtime wearer I’d be glad to assist.
 
Keep in in mind that the article you referenced is nearly 12 years old. Technology has certainly advanced since then.

Dguitarnut said:
As my hearing deteriorates due to excessive sound exposure (and into my sixties now) I did a little searching for information about hearing aids and their hifi worthiness. I found a good article here: http://www.hometheaterhifi.com/volume_13_2/hearing-aids-6-2006-part-1.html

Shouldnt the purveyors of our hifi equipment be responsible for our ADDICTION to music and our consequent hearing loss? :rolleyes:
in all seriousness at least the article does reveal there are big differences in the music rendering quality and that there is hope for us when the time comes that we need one.
Click to expand...
 
I avoided it for a number of years with the assumption that they would be the end of high quality music listening.

After quite a few years of suggestions and a few rib elbows and shoulder punches with a smile from my bride of 44 years I looked into it.

I started with a search on Google of "hearing aids for audiophiles". I was surprised at the amount of information I came up with.

Long story short, Widex widexusa.com is where i ended up. Created partially for musicians as they aged and lost hearing. I chose there top model (about $6000) that had 12 channels of frequency adjustment, 4 different program settings and 90 day return policy less original testing cost. Testing and aids was covered by my insurance but follow up visits are covered. Go figure. No I have no connection to the company.

I have had them for about 2 years and we are still tweaking them with different programs and frequency curves. The program that I listen to music with was easy to create and instantly allowed me to hear things like small details in harmonies with 2 or 3 female singers I didn't know were there. I knew i had hearing issues but didn't think I was missing something that simple.

As for hearing my wife's or other peoples voice easier we are still working on that. If we go to dinner I can tell you what the conversation table behind us is having much easier those at our table. It is an improvement to hear people more clearly but not a perfect world.

I like the people at the office I frequent and you are given the replaceable parts and batteries each time you go in at no charge. The Doctor is an ENT specialist with Audiologists on staff for the testing and consultations.

Good luck with your search.
 
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