Does Hearing Loss Disqualify Me from Audiophiledom?

@gruvjet : I doubt there is a Krell amp ever made that would be uncomfortable driving Maggies (how they may sound is a different matter)… I haven’t heard them all, of course, but I have heard many. One of my favorites was a KSA 250. I had auditioned newer models during the time that I owned it, but that one was best, overall, in my opinion. The amp I’m using now that sounds the best (so far) in my room, in my system, with my music, at the volume level at which I listen, is a Music Reference RM 10. I even preferred it to Music Reference’s own RM 200, which I purchased new from Music Reference. 

I don’t believe hearing loss disqualifies someone one bit.  
I suppose providing this info when conversing with others on the finer points of audio quality may be a fair self-qualification to one’s assessment of stuff. Perhaps, “I found the high frequency response lacking, but I also have hearing issues, so…”

Something like that may be fair, but these issues really don’t render a person’s assessment “inadmissible,” or whatever, in my opinion.

There is commonly seen, a mixed thought on what is Audiophile.

There is the Camp that lean toward the idea, it is the enjoyment of music and enthusiasm to maintain musical encounters as a replay of recorded music.

There is the Camp that lean toward the pursuit of High Fidelity (HiFi) as a result of the equipment in use, it does seem the more you have owned and the more one has spent on equipment, gives qualification to be a member of this camp.

The purchasing and moving through equipment Type/Designs does seem fitting, as High Fidelity (HiFi) was born in the 50's, and was first seen as a Sales Spiel by a certain Brand. As a term, it has been quite successful and endlessly plagiarised since. 

I am leaning toward the idea, a Audiophile enjoys Music and has the enthusiasm to create musical encounters, through the use of recorded music. Within this enthusiasm there is the need to have a concern about the equipment/tools required to enable it to happen. Experiences had, that expose an individual to an increased variety of types of equipment/tools, will show that some are more attractive in use that others.

The equipment is a means to an end, where the user decides where they are most contented with the assembly in use. It is their own level of satisfaction that is the most important, certainly not what others Purport through a forum.         

@carlsbad

"Go to costco and get a pair of the current Phillips hearing aids fitted to you. they will flatten out the frequency response and levelize your ears. "

Thanks for the tip. I’ll try to remember this the next time I go to Costco for an $8 bag of chips and walk out after spending $300.

I have had tinnitus at a pretty high level for years. I have worn hearing aids or about 15 years. My current ones can be adjusted through my iPhone is needed. Listening to a great album pretty much makes me forget about the tinnitus.