Does Hearing Loss Disqualify Me from Audiophiledom?


For one thing, it makes it really challenging to take advice from the experts with good ears.  As a result of loss in the higher register, tinitits and unbalanced hearing, I tend to go for dynamics and soundstage as opposed to accuracy and subtleties.  How do others who suffer from hearing issues "offset" their challenges?  Can we still be in the club?

Current Rig - Bluesound Node 2i > Danafrips Ares II > Freya + > Krell Duo 300 XD > Forte IVs / SVS PB 4000.  In case you have suggestions...

And yes, the Forte's can be a bit bright and fatiguing with certain music.  

gruvjet

A personal question.  If you still enjoy listening that's great.

My father who lived to be 102 had an interest in listening that went back to the 1920s, before commercial broadcasting.  In later life he became quite deaf and had hearing aids.  He wanted to continue listening to his analogue LP rig and so bought state of the art in ear amplifiers.  However he said it simply wasn't the same and I don't think he used his system at all during the last five or six years, despite my encouragement.

At over 70 my hearing isn't what it was.  I certainly still enjoy listening to my fairly high-end system but it is true I don't spend so much time on it.  I'm not hearing he frequencies about about 8kHz, so I hear all the notes but lose a lot of the high frequency ambience.  Has anyone else found that if you hold your nose and breath out a lot of the highs come back?  Short term and uncomfortable but brings back memories.  I have wondered it my hearing loss can therefore be remedied by some means,

@clearthinker 

Your hearing may be off, but your mind reading abilities are exceptional. I have the exact same response when I pressurize my ears. It’s almost too bright!  It makes me wonder if the hearing “loss” we experience is not from the inability to hear those frequencies, but rather like a clogged passage that can be opened up through an invasive procedure? 
 

Does everyone else have the same experience?

When they say things like we lose our ability to hear past a certain freq it refers to at a certain dB. We are able to hear them at higher SPL. Can you still hear a mosquito when it’s buzzing around your ear? Look at that frequency. My answer? Turn it up!  @gruvejet I do think you have a point. The pharyngotympanic tube can become clogged or at least restricted. I've been dealing with this to a degree. Two months of Fluticosone and ear drops have helped, and I'm stunned by the amount of wax removed and the improvement since.

@dadork-

Can you still hear a mosquito when it’s buzzing around your ear?   Look at that frequency.

                          Could you be a bit more nebulous?

https://www.researchgate.net/figure/Wingbeat-frequencies-for-29-mosquito-species-Bars-mean-wingbeat-frequency-are_fig1_351489590

 

                    The pharyngotympanic tube and EAR WAX?       

                                                     +1

                                AudioPHILE = audio LOVER (literally)

     iow: If you love AUDIO, you qualify (irrespective of anything else, including hearing).

      'Music' differs from 'audio' in definition, but many conflate them (semantics).

      I'm quite certain: Beethoven was still a MUSICPHILE, though he had gone deaf between his twenties and forties.

      *There wasn't much in the way of 'audio', back in Ludwig's day, for him to,"love". 

                              Would he have, "loved" it? 

       *TOTALLY: non sequitur to the initial thread topic, but: semantic gymnastics are fun!