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 timkeough1964

After 30 years of playing in bands and going to 100 db concerts, my upper end frequencies were shot. It got to the point where conversations were muffled, and music sounded like I was listening under water. I finally broke down and begun using hearing aids. My main advice to you is to do a lot of research. Don't let people tell you that you cannot significantly improved your hearing with hearing aids. Adding EQ will do nothing if the upper end is lost. Only quality hearing aids will help you. Like anything, you get what you pay for. I chose Oticon. They are one of the industry best. Oticon offers a special program called MY MUSIC. Your audiologist programs it to your specifications. I also invested in custom ear molds, which help tremendously. Talk to a good audiologist. Don't settle for Costco (or any big box store) for such an important medical device.