Aging ears and Nuances
I spoke to and older audio buddy of mine and he made a full 180 on his nice tube gear and just went with lower cost streamer that can also be used as a preamp. He says he doesn’t hear much above 11.5k. My tests let me hear up to about 13.5k but I’m able to hear even subtle differences between tube amps etc quite easily even though most of the music is in lower frequencies of the spectrum regardless. Does anyone here find themselves experiencing a more difficult time appreciating the nuances with their age? And has it affected the choices you have made with gear, not being as picky?
Maybe, but they sell a limited selection of Rx brands, none of which are considered state of the art. Not saying they wont do the job though. I did consider Costco, but I gave them a pass when I spoke to someone in the hearing aid department of my local store though. |
This is a good question. I have hearing loss from being too close to a bank of JBLs at a rave 30+ years ago, and tinnitus. I’m 61. Standard hearing tests go to 8kHz - so how are you and @billstevenson getting tested to 13.5K? (tagging jourdoktorn on this question too)
I’ve just trialed "the best" hearing aids from hear.com, the Horizon IX at $6K. 100% online/remote service. I found they worked surprisingly good listening to music using "open domes" which pass through the maximum amount of natural external sound. They promised the world in both technology and customer service which is how they justified the premium price, and failed miserably in the first 21 days of my 45 day trial. Unhappy with the cost and service, I found out the major player is WSA and they own Horizon, Signia (formerly Siemens) and others, as well as online businesses INCLUDING hear.com. Next I ended up at Hear USA, had another test but this time in a booth, and got a quote for $4800 for the Signia BCT IX, which supersedes the Horizon IX. Still unhappy with the price for what I know costs about $300 or less to make, I ended up with directhearing.com and have the Signia BCT arriving on Monday programmed with my free audiogram from Hear USA for $2700 with 12 months no interest financing and 3 years of free adjustments and supplies. But no, I’m not missing details or nuances in music, maybe just a bit of the higher frequency info, but my hearing loss isn’t the usual age-related high frequency loss, I have more midrange loss from the trauma - so for speech I struggle with soft voices and soft words (vowels) but I designed my system to be very good in the mid range. |
This is good advice. Check that your provider knows how to optimize a program for recorded music program and can tweak it as needed, for example after your brain gets used to the new device. You can also use different domes. You might find a closed or partially closed dome is better for social situations or TV, and open is better for music. |
