Hearing aids for audiophiles?

There's really only 3 things wrong with hearing aids for audiophiles:
1. the mic is crap
2. the amp is crap
3. the drivers are crap
Otherwise they are fine.

I am hoping to get responses from people that have /do wear them or have experience, family members that wear them.

Do you wear hearing aids by chance? 

I do and I cannot stand them when listening to my system. I have tried a few different makes and they all make analog sound like a cheap transistor radio. For my hearing deficit, the Schitt Loki is the perfect solution for now. 

My late wife had one that could receive a Bluetooth signal, but she never seemed to like it. It was a Seimen’s hearing aide. We had an adapter that would turn the TV’s audio, for example, into a Bluetooth signal that an outboard Bluetooth receiver, plugged into her hearing aide, received. That small receiver was worn like a necklace.

The Seimen’s model she had was expensive and had many features and modes it could be operated in. She never was able to fully utilize all modes due to the extent of her hearing loss. She only had use of one ear due to a birth injury. The Seimen’s models may be worth looking into to see if a tech savvy person might obtain better results. I can’t attest to the quality of the sound via Bluetooth, and she may have complained it sounded "tinny".

I’m guessing a good pair of headphones would yield better results. We eventually got her an open air Bluetooth headphone that covered only one ear. This could be turned up loud enough for her to hear music or the TV. with decent quality sound, and not disturb others in the process by otherwise loudly playing the TV or stereo. It being open air enabled her to hear others speaking to her simultaneously.

You might email Siemens with your question.

Mike

Prevention. Start early. Don't work in a machine shop and don't drink alcohol.

@dweller.....................
I think that advice is a little too late for the OP.

Was addressing to currently unaffected. And don’t smoke tobacco. Those tiny blood vessels feeding you auditory nerves don't react well to poisons of any kind.

Too many MDs here, what you guys are doing here is similar to scolding the COPDer in respiratory distress for his nicotine addiction instead of sedation and intubation:)

For those of you that use hearing aids for day to day use... What effect does it have on your music listening  when you take them out. Does the music become veiled, muted, dull?

Here is a little test. While listening  cup your hands behind your ears . . Note what happens to the sound. Then take your hands away and hear the difference. . My wife says there is no difference to her,  but there is a definite difference for me. More highs with my hands behind my ears. 

Hi
i have had Hearing aids  fior several years...it has greatly helped in increasing my music enjoyment...I have Top model Oticon and use music program program software....the key is finding an good Audiologist who will work with you in fitting and programing your aids!Modern mics and digital platforms in current generation Hearing aids when programed and fitted properly provide amazing clarity,depth,focus and even give back ability to pick up  subtle cues like decay, stage cues ,localization Etc
hope this helps 

Oh lucky me, I get to share my experience about something that I had hoped never to need. Ok, so I have had a set of hearing aids for about 5 weeks now. In short, I call them noise amplifiers. That is just for daily life. I can hear all the noise that the world has to offer in living color. But yes, let's talk about music. I remember Virgil Fox, world re-known organist, saying that an electronic organ can be a good representation of a Great sound. That is as close as I would compare the hearing aid debate. Yes, in fact, I can now hear some of what I was missing, and yes I do appreciate that much. The Widex aids that I have can be programmed for music listening, and that seems to be at least an attempt from the manufacturer to compensate in a way. But here is the result so far. My ears still know the difference between the music coming from the speakers and what is being reproduced through the hearing aid. So far, as I am experimenting with these noise amplifiers, I have found it best to use them set at the lowest possible volume while I listen. Further, I find that they are susceptible to head position in relation to the couch that I am sitting on. It doesn't help that this a leather couch, and reflects sound more than I care for from behind. Third, I find it to be important that you remove your glasses while listening so that they have no interference with the mic's that the aids use. Normally this would not be as much of a consideration, but in this case it certainly is. Of course, the amount of deafness that you have will be one of the greatest factors of success with the aids to begin with. Lastly, there really is a right volume for music to begin with and this is exacerbated with the hearing aids. They don't do dynamics perfectly, and loud music makes that fact even worse.

It seems that modern hearing aids have helped many people in terms of better understanding human voice/one on one conversation. Music listening is a different matter and there's still much improvement/advancement needed. Music listening is a complex challenge. Amplifying noise and sounds is very different from preserving the natural sound of the healthy ear. Just not there yet.
Charles 

Yes is challenge ...need work closely with On cutting out limiters and bells whistles when using fior music...also close work comprehension-ratios etc...been very fortunate to have good working relationships with audiologist on works with me on digital settings that have greatly helped getting sn ratio  in 105 db plus range ..  but comes at steep $price$ they are not cheap !
agree it challenge but is getting better...my loss  genetic so not much I can do. But I do have music in my life that is most important thing to me

gtsynder,
It's gratifying to know that you are still able to enjoy listening to music.  I agree with you and am optimistic that hearing aids will continue to improve and eventually solve the challenge  of listening to music in a satisfying manner.
Charles 

Some great information and promising too! I Beleive mine is genetic also.

Thanks

I appreciate the responses here, and also hope for better in the future. Having said that, about 13 years ago, I bought a set that I ended up abandoning. They were the latest thing (Starky 'hearing stick' model) with the digital circuitry and all. $4,500... no go. Last month, I spent  $6,400 on the Widex top of the line, and even though I am not having the best results so far, I am convinced that they can do better with the applied app for music. It is a trial and error situation, and let's face it, the manufacturer is trending towards speech not music. There may be a work around to some degree, but it takes more than this to fool the auditory system that we were born with.

I have tried several brands in the last 7 years... prefer top end Oticon for general purposes. However, even wide open with no compression they suck for high end audio enjoyment . Take them off and get an equalizer  ( Loki in my case) and adjust for your deficit accordingly. If you don’t mind the negative effects when you listen with them on then great!!! I wish I could say that...

Similar thread on AVSforum.  Consensus there was don't go cheap.  I got top of the line Phonak about 6 months ago and have been very pleased.  They are not perfect, but generally exceed my expectations.  Sound quality and all the subtleties of great recordings are right where they need to be in my theater room.  As others said, clue in your audiologist.

I know this thread has been idle for a bit but wanted to add some information. Like many, I have known for a period of time that my hearing was impacted on poor choices from my younger years. And of late have been having a harder and harder time enjoying music and daily encounters with others and even watching the tv. I recently received my first pair of hearing aids, The Phonak Audeo M90. At first it was a bit overwhelming as what I was thinking was static or excess feedback was just my ears not used to upper frequencies. After a few days of use I finally wanted to listen to music. I was prepared for a major let down but to my surprise it has been enjoyable. I am hearing things I have not for years and as a previous post had mentioned if you keep the volume down on the aids it seems to work best. 
Hope this helps. Cheers

Hi, 
I new to posting here but have purchased from Audigon in the past as well as recently.  I am currently 'demoing' Oticon vs Widex to see which I prefer.  I have severe tinnitus, sounds like white noise with a high frequency all the time, it only varies in volume.  I've had this for years.  At some point I stopped listening to music, which I love, because it wasn't enjoyable.  Sold all my 2 channel gear.  Decided I would just stick with HT for movie watching.  When I decided to get tested, I was shocked at the results.  I hear low volume fine, at about 10db.  It continues to decline sharply at 1K and goes straight to 90db at 8k.  This is profound hearing loss, exactly the same in both ears.  I grew up in NE swimming and diving in very cold water...this may have something to do with it. 
This is what I've found so far and it's only been a few days.  First, my gear is not audiophile level so be clear and I don't pretend it is.  However when I put my Original Master (purchased many years ago) of Pink Floyd's Dark Side of the Moon, I was in shock.  Understand it's just a Rega turntable played through a Marantz SR6013 to G.E. Triton 5's with a JL Dominion d-108 but for me it was a wonderful experience.  What we used to call headroom, lowest lows to highest highs was opened up for me again.  There was sound staging that I hadn't heard ever on this setup.  I still have a California Audio CD player that I purchased here and have had extensive work done to it so that it's like new thinking it would improve the sound.  It didn't but it was because of my hearing.  So I also played Holly Cole - I can see clearly now - WOW, just beautiful.
For me the hearing aids have opened everything up for me.  Does it mean I will go back to try getting the perfect sound.  Well, I'm retired now so budgets and other expenses will most likely prevent it but a little upgrade here and there may be available to me through the pre-owned path.  

I just signed up for these, figured I give them a shot: 

https://olive-pro-2-in-1-hearing-aids.kckb.st/mark-lewis

my hearing is pretty good but I have fairly severe roll off at 4K and a moderate case of tinnitus. I don’t need hearing aids 24/7 but it would be nice to hear my music and the tv clearly again...🤷🏼

Ok guys I'm going to throw in my 2 cents worth and I will stay on topic. My first hearing aids were Beltone. Every setting is based on the equalizer in the app. If I've set it for regular conversation I can switch to the equalizer and see what they have chosen. The equalizer is divided into bass mid and highs. I quickly realized I could fine tune the 3 of them to get something acceptable for my hi fi system. Hi end speakers are very clear and dynamic. The whole basis of hearing aid is first clarity of speech. This makes them very treble sounding in nature. I find when setting the Beltone app equalizer to the lowest setting it still appears a bit to harsh. Although definitely better than before equalization. Enter a pair of Otican More for a free trial. These have a very natural sound much better than I have heard to date. I stream a few high res tunes from my Tidal app the equalizer comes up I fine tune it and the results are exceptional. I head to my listening room elated that I can do this with the equalizer. Shoot me dead the equalizer will only function when you stream from the phone All of their chosen settings to put it brazenly SUCK. You have no other options as the equalizer is not available. The earpieces on these things are exceptional.They fit tight with zero feedback.However am I going to pay 6 grand for something that doesn't allow me to listen to my 20 grand rig.Enter next on my trial the Widex Moment. To keep it short I find that the equalizer will function while listening as well as streaming. Just to add, first thing I noticed was that the sound was not near as natural as the Oticons. Anyway are you ready for this.the equalizer must have been set up by someone who listens to MP3's. When increasing the bass from lowest to highest it created a sound that didn't have anything to do with deeper base.The lowest treble setting was still screeching at me. My old Beltones still gave me the best equalizer but had nowhere that natural sound of the Oticons. So for what its worth if the hearing aid companies in consultation with a skilled audiophile create a good equalizer then we will get much better sound. But you know as well as I do that's probably not going to happen. The priorities are making it possible for semi deaf people to hear properly. Great equalization is the only way. Selected music presets will not work for audiophiles and I don't have to list the reasons why. P.S. I contacted Oticon and praised them up on their good points but mentioned we need that equalizer to perform in all settings. My answer,We will submit your suggestion to the technical department. I'm not holding my breath. End of rant.Art

I wear behind-the-ear hearing aids for 2-channel listening and in-ear hearing aids for headphones. 

67 years old, moderate hearing loss and tinnitus. I tried top of the line Phonaks (in ear and behind ear), did not enjoy. Switched to ReSound top of the line. Much better experience. Decent sound with my current setup, nearfield KEF LS50 Wireless II's. I was once a Rogers LS35a owner/fan. Fortunately, the ReSound allows me to recapture some of the old bliss. Of course I will never experience the near perfection of my Verity Parsifal Encores powered by Art Audio Diavolo...but I enjoy listening still, and that's what matters.