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Anyone with tinnitus or hearing loss who is into "high-end" audio?

Over the last few years I have developed tinnitus and also have some hearing issues.  I am a long time music and audio fanatic.  Years ago I built my own Hafler amp.  Before that I had a great AR system.  Presently, I have, what I believe, is a pretty nice system in a dedicated listening room (about 60,000.00).  My question is if there are others of you out there in similar situations concerning your hearing issues as they relate to your love and reproduction of great sounding music?  What are your experiences? Have you found anything that helps and do you have any advice? I would venture to say that we all experience some degree of hearing loss, or hearing anomalies as we age...whether we realize it or not.  Thanks, Jim 
pfeiffer
lhasaguy's avatar
lhasaguy
336 posts
 
I am 71 and have had tinnitus for a long time.  I was the crew chief for am M60 machine gun as a Sergeant in the Army, then loud rock from the late 69s and early 70s did me no good.  That said I will forever remember seeing Duane Allman, Janis Joplin and Jim Morrison to name a few.

I recently have gone to hearing aids and the help a good bit.  I accept my limitations, and now embrace the music my system provides.  My desire to critique and analyze is gone and I just fall into the music I love (which is very esoteric).

I know I haven't been able to hear above 14k for many years and accept that getting old is Not for the weak, LOL
violadave
7 posts
 
I don't have tinnitus  but have had hearing loss for many years and tried a lot of different hearing aids and frankly the only ones that worked for me were Widex brand hearing aids.  I am also a professional classical musician (viola) and again, the only aids that worked for me while playing were Widex.  There may be others our there but I could only test so many so went with Widex.  I am very happy with them and they are recommended for musicians. 
bobedwards101
176 posts
 
I find headphones, especially Stax electrostatic phones a great help. 
b_limo's avatar
b_limo
2,274 posts
 
Absolutely great thread!  A big Thank You to Pfeiffer for starting it, and a Big Thank You to everyone else sharing the experiences of what works to try to combat this.  We spend so much time discussing equipment here but rarely discuss topics like this, which are equally, if not more, important.  Thank You 👍
falconquest's avatar
falconquest
1,108 posts
 
Once again consulting my PhD wife, Dirk De Ridder is a Belgian Neurosurgeon who is arguably the preeminent authority on tinnitus. I guess he is just crazy smart.  My wife has met him. I suggest anyone who wants more information should research his findings.


https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dirk_De_Ridder_(neurosurgeon)
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