System for the hearing impaired

I am a person that is an audiophile and have used hearing aids for over sixty years. Analogue hearing aids, which I still have, while great for listening to music, do not work well in general environments, especially noisy places. So a comprise is needed, given aids are very costly today. My analogue aids cost about $800 a pair, vs. $3,000 for the digital ones. Hopefully you have tried the hearing aids circuits that Meade Killion, of ER ear buds fame, has developed. His digital 'K' circuit, featured in aids build by General Hearing should be tired. Check out their web site for detailed information. Some models go out to 16KHZ, not 8KHZ that most aids do. I use a pair of them. When programed properly, they are a good compromise to analogue. One of my aids programs is especially tailored to music. The greatest challenge for any hearing impaired person who is a lover of music is to find the right audiologist, one that understands the needs of musicians, has many of them for clients and will take the time to work with you until satisfaction is reached. Believe me, that is not an easy task given the business model most audiologist need to adopt so they can make a good living. AS you know by now, modern aids do intensive signal processing, all programmable to fit your personal hearing curve. So, one of the first things you need to do is to check out your current aids curve to see if there is a mismatch with your hearing impairment. The problem could be that simple and fixable by a reprogramming. Call your audiologists today and ask for a printed copy of the aids curves and a printed copy of your hearing curves. See if they match. Enjoy the music.

You should try a graphic equalizer. It goes between your amp and preamp and you can fine tune the sound to your needs.

Not to hijack this thread, but Buconero117, your contributions on this issue have been outstanding. I am moving toward aids myself. If you live in the northeast, pls pm me. I'd like to have an off-line conversation on this.

I agree with Yogiboy. I would try an EQ like he says. You can get something pretty decent for a low price. At the very least, it can be use temp. solution until you get the hearing aid issues solved.

I have a couple of EQ myself that I use for bad recordings. One is analog and is made by dbx. It goes for about $200. The other is digital EQ made by Behringer. The model is DEQ2496 and goes for about $350. Any decent music store should have those 2 units in stock. I got both of mine from Guitar Center. They have a return policy if you end up not liking it.

Great advice Buconero117...I will see if the curves match, and then pursue the General hearing aids. Thanks!!!

If your hearing loss is uneven, mono may have some great benefits. Also, concentrating on midrange will help clarity. When people push for full range and great imaging there are sacrifices. I couldnt believe how well tv ears work for my dad. Lower volumes better clarity due to mono and great midrange. Kind of sounds like the specs from vintage tube gear.

Buconero117, your contributions on A'gon are invalueable, keep up the good work !