Due to injury suffered in the military, nerve damage, I have used HA (Both ears - diminished hearing @ 3k hz dropping drastically above that) since 2004. Compliments of the VA, who get an undeserved bad rap, the benefit has been like removing a hand from in front of your mouth to reveal an openness that I really didn't realize was missing. What I found myself doing prior to the HA was getting brighter speakers/components to compensate.
Now, working closely with my audiologist who equalizes the sound according to my wishes and not applying an exact reverse compensation that my testing reveals combined with getting open HA so low frequencies are not amplified, I can again enjoy my music played through my not-insubstantial audio investment. When I first got HA they adjusted to a reverse curve, but this was always way too bright.
The key to my current satisfaction is admitting that...I WILL NEVER regain the acuity/sensitivity of my natural hearing, a thought that depressed me because of my love of music. My hearing continues to deteriorate and I get new HA every few years (due to covid the VA is not seeing patients with partial hearing loss), so I'll enjoy as much and as long I can.
On a more positive note, I seem to suffer less when listening through headphones...my last move until giving up completely and giving the rig to one of my kids!
Now, working closely with my audiologist who equalizes the sound according to my wishes and not applying an exact reverse compensation that my testing reveals combined with getting open HA so low frequencies are not amplified, I can again enjoy my music played through my not-insubstantial audio investment. When I first got HA they adjusted to a reverse curve, but this was always way too bright.
The key to my current satisfaction is admitting that...I WILL NEVER regain the acuity/sensitivity of my natural hearing, a thought that depressed me because of my love of music. My hearing continues to deteriorate and I get new HA every few years (due to covid the VA is not seeing patients with partial hearing loss), so I'll enjoy as much and as long I can.
On a more positive note, I seem to suffer less when listening through headphones...my last move until giving up completely and giving the rig to one of my kids!