My HF hearing loss was caused by one of the 'wonder drugs' back in the 1950s. At age 70 I finally gave in to buying hearing aids. Tried 'dummy' units of the in-ear variety and couldn't stand them. Then went to a premium HA dealer. With a $6k pair he was able to EQ it to the point where my wife sounded exactly like her normal voice--even outside of the room I was in, and 20' down the hall. Very impressive. I photographed my hearing chart and left. $6k was too much, given my active lifestyle and vulnerability to damaging or losing them. I ended up purchasing Audicus online for $1500/pr. Sent them my hearing chart and they EQ'd them, but obviously, I could not get them fine-tuned over the internet. They were reasonably close and after about two months my brain adjusted to wearing them. Basically, I adjusted to the 'new normal'. Wearing a mask during Covid, I've almost lost them when removing my mask. They are the small, over-the-ear type and are visually almost unnoticeable--not that I'm that vain, but I don't have any body piercings either.
I have a very mild tinnitus, which goes away when I wear the HAs, or when I listen to music. I do not wear the HAs when listening to music. I simply listen at a louder level (+3dB) than my audio buddy with good hearing. It takes my brain about a minute to get readjusted to the different EQ without the HA. I've trained my brain to hear most of the great nuances of reproduced music that audiophiles treasure without HAs. Leaving them on when listening kind of messes up live or reproduced music in many ways, so unless I cannot make out the lyrics from the back of the hall, I leave them off. But I can appreciate that others might not be so fortunate.
Given how rough I am with the HAs, I'm impressed with their durability. I've had them for two years now. Once I'm able to go mask-less, I might consider paying extra to have a local pro fine-tune the EQ, just to see what that's like. But if I had to do it over again, I'd go right back to Audicus, as I'm comfortable with their price and their product.
I have a very mild tinnitus, which goes away when I wear the HAs, or when I listen to music. I do not wear the HAs when listening to music. I simply listen at a louder level (+3dB) than my audio buddy with good hearing. It takes my brain about a minute to get readjusted to the different EQ without the HA. I've trained my brain to hear most of the great nuances of reproduced music that audiophiles treasure without HAs. Leaving them on when listening kind of messes up live or reproduced music in many ways, so unless I cannot make out the lyrics from the back of the hall, I leave them off. But I can appreciate that others might not be so fortunate.
Given how rough I am with the HAs, I'm impressed with their durability. I've had them for two years now. Once I'm able to go mask-less, I might consider paying extra to have a local pro fine-tune the EQ, just to see what that's like. But if I had to do it over again, I'd go right back to Audicus, as I'm comfortable with their price and their product.