When your hearing is not very good......


I recently acquired a nice hifi system for free which I detailed in another thread in the amps forum. I was not an audiophile prior to this and I'm not sure I am one now. However, I'm enjoying learning about all this and can tell a definite and significant improvement in sound quality compared to my basic old consumer level system.

However, I'm 55 years old and I have definite hearing loss in my left ear from guns, rock concerts and heavy equipment. I also have tinnitus in both ears that I can hear 24/7. So these are limitations that cannot be overcome medically (I am certain of that) nor with audio equipment tweaking I'd assume.

I can live with that. 

But it begs the question about what to do going forward. There are some additions to the system that I'd already like to make in regard to things like a DAC and phono preamp. I am already disinclined to spend a bunch of money on such items and they range from $50 to thousands and there is always the assurance that every dollar spent will result in tangible improvements. And I believe that is true to a certain extent. But with my limitations and my tendency towards being tight with my money, it is hard to know where to draw the line.

So I'm curious how others handle issues with their hearing in regard to the cost vs reward ratio. Or when the hearing tanks is it just time to find another hobby?

Finally, given the dangers of sound exposure that I am a perfect example of, what level of decibels do you hard core folks expose yourselves to with regard to your music? Do you measure it? What is your cutoff?
n80
Me too. Loud music was the cause. As Dan said, don't assume your hearing (and you) does not deserve the best sound. You will be able to discern the improvements. Spend well. YOLO!
Most of what you hear is your mind interpreting sound. Even aged classical conductors with hearing loss can tell if one violin is out of tune. The better your equipment, the more you hear and the more you will appreciate. Good luck. 
Agree with the perspective of the above posts. Aging men seem to lose predominantly upper frequency level hearing ability. Thankfully the vast majority of musical information is found in the midrange region. So I believe that the sheer joy of  listening to music is preserved for the most part. I don't believe there is much loss of hearing bass region frequencies either. n80 I strongly suspect youll be able to hear differences in the sound quality of various audio components. Listening to music is truly one of life’s wonderful treasures.
Charles
BTW tgrisham makes an interesting observation regarding aging orchestra conductors.
Charles 
I know it's not a popular device for most audiophiles but I compensate for my upper frequency register loss with an equalizer.  I was using an old harmen-kardon EQ-8 I bought back in the late 80's but it recently died.

I purchased a Schitt Loki about a month or so ago.  However, I'm still playing with the settings to retain the warm tube sound I like but I'm generally pleased with it.