Are using hearing aids for stereo listening like trying to push a river through a straw?

Hello:

I had a pair of Phonak aids for two weeks, and surprisingly, I really enjoyed them listening to my system. Like you, I didn’t absolutely need aids, but do have fairly substantial loss in the high frequency range.

Once I tweaked the hearing aids in the app, turning off all the compression, eq, correction, etc., they greatly added to my enjoyment of the music. 

I ended up with a pair of Jabra Enhance Pro 20s from Costco, and they are also excellent. 

How long did you wear the aids for? It took me a few weeks, and now I don’t even know I have them on. 

Your mileage may vary, but I’d recommend giving them a lengthy trial before you decide whether to keep them.  They’re kind of like a new piece of equipment. 

Takes time to break them/you in. 

Best, JAMES

said

it was like trying to push a river through a straw!

I think I would stay away from him. It sounds like he has little understanding of his product or little faith in it. Hearing aides have a very similar task as subwoofers. They only amplify the frequencies that are missing. My Signia RIC type sound very natural.I’m glad I have them & I didn’t spend $3k for them either. The Signias are very good.I have medicare you got them through Tru Hearing. Mine were tested and fitted at a Dr office. It my understanding that the audiologist is crucial to getting good performance from hearing aides. Makes sense to me.

I have been lucky in that my good friend and college roommate happens to be the top ENT in our part of the country specializing in ears. He set me up with Phonak a few years back. After getting used to them and making some adjustments to the app, I was pretty happy. We have now upgraded to their latest model which boasts AI processing. Marketing BS was my first thought. I did notice some differences in the way they handled background noise. It took a lot of tweaking to get them dialed into the stereo but when they were set it sounded great. Try listening with them in and then taking them out and listening to the same song; it's a huge improvement. Unfortunately, headphones are a struggle and require a different sound setting. Haven't got that dialed in yet. I found that the key to delightful sound is keeping them clean. They get new wax guards every week.