Lost all hearing in one ear, is it worth upgrading speakers?
I was in the process of upgrading my speakers( Goldenear Triton 1s driven by McIntosh amp and pre) when I lost complete hearing in one ear. Will not come back and can not be helped by hearing aide or cochlear implant etc. I was about to upgrade to possible Vandersteen 5a or carbon when it happened. Obviously I cannot enjoy the music as before but would I appreciate the difference in speakers if I upgraded? Soundstage, presence, sweet spot ,stereo are all gone or compromised. Has anyone else experienced this and how have you accommodated?Not seeking sympathy just options!
If your other ear is stable, I don't see why you couldn't optimize your speakers for the hearing you have left. But the criteria may be different - if you can't perceive soundstage, you don't have to accept a tradeoff in order to get it.
I suggest that you go to a good dealer or two and listen a lot, so you can revise the criteria of what you want in a speaker. Good luck!
Tooth, same problem here. I suddenly lost hearing in the right ear almost a year ago. I still appreciate quality of the gear I have, but lost interest in upgrading. Doctor says that cochlea is damaged, most likely by the (chicken pox / shingles) virus. Hearing aid won't help. Cochlear implant might, but it is a major surgery, (that can go wrong) plus hardware inside and outside. Doctor advises against it. The other ear is perfect (for the age) and the only problem is understanding words in noisy environment like party or restaurant. In addition there is a loud white noise in bad ear with a high frequency pitch. It is what it is - I cannot do anything about it. I still like to participate on this forum, but buying is done for me.
Hearing gone in one ear? Damn it, man, thats messed up. You can do what you want with speakers, means you have to have that side of your hear leaning that way to appreciate them, correct? I have a bud has ringing in his ears, guessing from shell shock. I forget what they call it, he's phucked at times.
Tinnitus is the constant ringing In the ear. Able to ignore it most of the time. Kijanki:May have to do as you and just enjoy existing. Really bummed as was just really learning to enjoy the nuances high end audio has to offer and was lookin forward to upgrading!
Perhaps if you combine video with music it will enhance the enjoyment by engaging you visual acoustic senses, reducing your focus on monaural limitation.
You have my sympathies. This kind of thing is bad enough for the average person but for an audiophile it can be worse.
As we age it seems like a never ending period of constant adjustments. Can’t play football anymore, stiffness in the mornings, can’t recover from sex as quick, bladder won’t hold for as long as it - constant adjustments. We all have to face them eventually.
I think as dave_b said earlier I would try to combine some form of visual feedback with my listening. Music seems to sound better with visuals - I know it doesn’t really - but it just feels like it. Helps to focus attention and wake up memory too. Even Google images of the musicians might help whilst listening.
Viridian, many reasons. My wife (and friends) still enjoy stereo, like the rest of people, selling brand new amp and DAC (that I love), bought at full price at loss is not what I'm looking for, not to mention that speakers (Hyperion HPS-938) are relatively unknown (a giant killer) and hard to sell.
Dave_b suggestion to use visual is a great one. I noticed that sound comes from between the speakers when I watch TV. Visual clues are forcing brain to assume that sound is coming from the center. It might even help to establish better relation between sound and vision.
wow. sorry to hear that. thankfully it was not worse!
when bad falls on my lap I get completely focused on that one thing, and not how grateful I am for things not having been worse.
Musical enjoyment comes not from listening to it in stereo. it comes from listening to it.
live events are not neceessarily in stereo.
stereo did not even come along until the late 50s or early 60s.
all is not lost.
sinus issues occasionally affect me enormously. at times reducing me to almost one good ear, by lowering my sensitivity tremendously in my left ear. When unaffected the left side is down from 2db to 5db with regard to sensitivity, so I can at least partially relate here.even with one ear I can detect the sweeping changes in a stereo reproduction. tonal changes. And discern specific instruments.
the experience is impacted but the true involvement remains unaffected.
IOW... I should think fav genres and fav tunes are still favorites. listening posture too is gonna change a bit.
from an 'unattached' view point, I'd say there is sure gonna be a bit of adjustment now. as such, I'd do my best to let honesty and compromise lead the way. I'd say too as being an audio nut was not altered, outright system wide downsizing is off the table.
maybe replacing speakers is in order, I'd offer if for no other reason, there will or could be at the very least, an esthetic upgrade if the current standards are exchanged.
esthetics are quite important for the unafflicted audio nuts. sometimes they are the solitary reason for acquiring them. go figure.
the first post herein says it all I think.
grab the wife, and go see what things sound like at a dealership or two, bnearby and then decide, for your wife and yourself. together!
I'd offer too , its her turn to choose, that is if it had been yours in the past.
I've heard too when one door closes, another one opens.
it took losing my sight for me to begin looking for the next open door rather than to bemuse and ruminate over that loss.
life did not stop abruptly as I thought it had, it simply took an unexpected turn. drawing on my former military service, one adage prevails in life, 'Learn, adapt, overcome'.
So very sorry to hear this my great hope is that you can continue to enjoy music in any form that gives you happiness. since you mentioned him, Richard Vandersteen volunteers with those impacted by hearing loss, indeed every pair comes with both a warning as well as an admonition to protect what we cherish. Richard picks up the phone, I know he has a mono rig and he might have some ideas. I can assure you he will not be selling just helping. happy Easter bless you peace and grace jim
Also, you might try pointing the existing speakers back at the wall and going for a wider more expansive soundstage - think 901 but with much better quality. If you preamp has a mono , phase and reverse switch. I would also experiment a bit w that functionality. you might also try more corner loading - trading spatial cues ( from reflection) for more bass output....
My right ear - I can hear my wrist watch ticking if I take it off from across the room. I actually have to take it off when listening to music with quiet passages because I can hear it.
My left ear - I could shove it into my ear and not a sound can be heard.
I do not have complete loss, but there is a constant ringing and some frequencies are completely lost on me.
Not the same as your complete loss, I know
FWIW, I have found its even more crucial to have "better" sounding speakers and anything that has any kind of "fatiguing" quality to the sound becomes completely unbearable.
I have to request seats on a plane in front of the engines on longer flights as I find the noise far too annoying. Some frequencies...
It obvious, I know, but the only way you will know if its worth it to you, is if you audition whatever you are planning on getting in your own space.
Don't think the loss of hearing in one ear should negate you getting as much enjoyment as possible from listening to music with your one good ear.
Quick question. I know I have a really hard time finding my cell if it is ringing, as it is difficult to specifically locate where the sound is coming from. Is this the same for you? I have some sense of direction of sound i.e. from/rear and left/right but it is seriously diminished.
I have a hearing imbalance that bothers me when I just listen to music. But when I smoke a pipe while listening, I can just relax and enjoy the music (and the pipe).
I woke up one day dizzy, my ears badly congested, and suddenly I had lost most of my hearing. I soon recovered the hearing in my left ear, but the hearing in my right ear didn’t improve after several days. To top it off, I now had tinnitus in that bad ear. I went to an older E.N.T., and he diagnosed me with meniere’s disease, saying there was nothing anyone could do about it—just wait and hope it cures itself. I was pretty upset, to say the least. My wife posted my condition on Facebook, looking for any ideas, and we were contacted by a friend of hers who worked for an audiologist at Vanderbilt. She said that there WAS something I could do to get help, but there is only about a ten day window, and after that, it’s too late. I was at day 11 or so, so I rushed in for the treatment, a steroid shot, and luckily regained much of my hearing almost immediately. The tinnitus stayed, unfortunately, but I now had about 75% of my hearing back in my bad ear. The upshot? I learned you always get another opinion; avoid old, unmotivated doctors with outdated ideas; and never curse Facebook again. Thanks to Vanderbilt Med Center, I can still enjoy high-end audio. I feel for anyone who has lost their hearing as I almost did. Sad to hear your story. Good luck. And go mono.
I hope it helps to know that David Pack, a terrific musician and successful record producer, is deaf on one side. Good luck to you in coping.
A good opportunity to think about how precious our hearing is. I just returned from a weekend in Nashville. Attended a Dan Tyminski concert in the Cavern (site of Bluegrass Underground, for those who are familiar) and the average sound pressures, according to Decibel X were 110 dB, with peaks considerably higher. Not just ear-splitting loud, the sound also sucked, essentially just thunderous bass guitar and drum, saw-tooth waves.
Later, walking Broadway and looking for good live music, we were unable to find any place that was tolerable (I.e. not hazardous). One bar was so loud I got 110db readings outside on the sidewalk, 15 feet from the door.
Infections and idiopathic hearing are bad enough. At least I can try to avoid voluntary exposure to dangerous sounds.
Mysteriousmrm, Glad to hear most of yours resolved. Mine happened suddenly also with a feeling of water in my ear. The hearing disappeared within moments. I had 1st steroid intertypanic injection within 2 days and started oral steroids immediately. Had 4 more injections and several hyperbaric chamber treatments over the next month plus to no avail! Am left with zero hearing and tinnitus in one ear and no possible treatment or resolution.
Sorry to hear it. But you have to now that a lot of details are take over by the other ear. So , after a while ,your ears adapt to the environment.Tinnitus kan be very annoying. But please, go listening for speakers with a good surround .( good radiation, holographic). I sincerely hope you find a good solution. Tinnitis can be remedied with an open setting hearing aid. Also regularly seek silence. And please, not to play loud. Can cause more damage. I wish you a lot of luck !!!!
Jan 2018 I began to feel dizzy and sick in the pit of my stomach at the same time. Pretty scary after 30 seconds or so when it still hasn't stopped. I was more or less bed ridden for a week and very reluctantly went to see the doctor - I think audiophiles tend to be self sufficient - who told me it was Menieres disease. He gave me some tablets and told me nothing else could be done.
In desperation I used an old infra red lamp to see if improved circulation might help fight the infection. A few days later the bouts of vertigo began to recede and eventually stopped altogether.
For anyone who hasn't had it, I can say that it was one of the worst physical experiences I've ever suffered. Threatens to take everything away.
Sometimes I wonder whether these things are trying to tell us something about how wonderful life really is. Every minute of it.
My God @77jovian, Tyminski at 110dB? For Bluegrass?! The loudest band I ever heard were The Ramones at The Santa Monica Civic Auditorium (MUCH louder than The Who), a cement bunker with atrocious acoustics. It was absolutely ridiculous, I left after a few songs. I was wearing my molded ear plugs with attenuators, but every snare drum backbeat Marky played felt like a punch in the chest. Why, why, why?!
Brian Wilson is deaf in one ear (that's why he mixed to mono), from his dad Murry punching him in the head.
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