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Hearing aid question

Decades ago I at least thought of myself as a bit of a "Golden Ear"; my Quad ELS/Pyramid supertweeter combo and associated electronics were a source of pride and joy. (All gone over the years, alas.) In recent years I have learned that I have essentially lost the top three octaves of my auditory frequency response, whether through natural aging or some other process I'm not sure; I also have a fair bit of tinnitus at this stage, but that has proved less of an issue in being able to enjoy music. So now I've gone from enjoying the transparent reproduction of great music to struggling to resolve the sibilants in my wife's speech. (In the overall scheme of things, the latter is arguably more important, at least in maintaining peace at home.) I still very much enjoy listening to music, but the high-end losses have somewhat diminished the joy of it.

I am of course starting to think about taking the leap into hearing aids as a genuine quality-of-life enhancement. I was wondering if anyone out there has dealt with similar issues, and perhaps formed opinions about which of the many available solutions has worked best as both a general lifestyle aid and a boost to their enjoyment of live and recorded music. Many thanks in advance.

ericrhenry5488

Showing 1 response by artemus_5

artemus_5's avatar
artemus_5
1,992 posts
 

I got hearing aids about 1 yr ago. Since I'm retired, my health Insurance has a deal with Tru-Hearing. The audiologist works in an ENT dr's office, and the hearing aids offered are made by Signia. My hearing loss is in the same range as yours OP. I got the RIC type which are made for TH by Signia. They are the AX series which Dr Cliff (audiologist on Youtube) considers to be among if not the best. BTW his videos were quite helpful in knowing what to look for in the process. The audiologist is the most important part of the process. They have to program for your hearing. 

Bottom line is that I am very pleased with the hearing aids. I now hear the highs. Yet everything about the sound is natural. I recommend these tru-hearing or the Signia AX RIC. First, a good dr/audiologist. BTW mine cost $700. The app allows me to tone down the highs or lift them up. If anything I sometimes have to tone it down of some more bright recordings and it still sound very natural.

Here's Dr Cliff speaking about the newest gen IX vs AX. His other vids are very informative. BTW I found this vid AFTER i already had my Signia's

 

Signia IX Detailed Hearing Aid Review (youtube.com)

Here's mine

Signia Pure Charge&Go 3AX

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