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Hearing aid question

Decades ago I at least thought of myself as a bit of a "Golden Ear"; my Quad ELS/Pyramid supertweeter combo and associated electronics were a source of pride and joy. (All gone over the years, alas.) In recent years I have learned that I have essentially lost the top three octaves of my auditory frequency response, whether through natural aging or some other process I'm not sure; I also have a fair bit of tinnitus at this stage, but that has proved less of an issue in being able to enjoy music. So now I've gone from enjoying the transparent reproduction of great music to struggling to resolve the sibilants in my wife's speech. (In the overall scheme of things, the latter is arguably more important, at least in maintaining peace at home.) I still very much enjoy listening to music, but the high-end losses have somewhat diminished the joy of it.

I am of course starting to think about taking the leap into hearing aids as a genuine quality-of-life enhancement. I was wondering if anyone out there has dealt with similar issues, and perhaps formed opinions about which of the many available solutions has worked best as both a general lifestyle aid and a boost to their enjoyment of live and recorded music. Many thanks in advance.

ericrhenry5488
fordste
6 posts
 

I went to hearing aid 2 years ago.  I bought the top Phonak aid.  They are designed with music in mind and have an adjustable music mode.  One of the main aspects of this mode is the removal of any “noise reduction” processing.  This can destroy the sound stage.  I have a PS Audio system which includes the flagship FR30 speakers.  The aids retail for more than $7k but I will not listen to music without them.

rbgerber
1 posts
 

I researched most of the hearing aid options and landed on top level Widex ones.  The Music setting is very good in the range of this genre of aids. None of this kind of aids reproduces above 4k, however. 

I have recently learned about a new genre of aids that that use an "earlens" surgically attached to the rim of eardrum and vibrating directly against the eardrum.  They get a radio signal from a device that looks like regular hearing aid.  They claim to extend the lower range and more so the upper range up to 10k with a more natural sound throughout.  I am about to try them myself.

The problem is that they are very expensive comparatively, although a lot of us spend more on our systems or even some components.  For those both motivated enough and having the means this promises to be a superior improvement for audiophile listening along with the rest of hearing.  Check out earlens.com.

larsman's avatar
larsman
1,813 posts
 

The Jabra Enhance Pro 20's I just got at Costco have frequency range up to 8K or more. 

dickieboy's avatar
dickieboy
44 posts
 

I'm on my second pair of Oticon top of the line aids. Hearing loss runs in my family. Life changing.  No messing with settings. They adjust to background noise, volume at live music events. Important to note, if you've put off getting them, you will have a longer time for your brain  connection to adapt. They will sound tinny so your audiologist will slowly increase the level over months. Best improvement to my system and my life. You simply can't tune your system to your hearing needs. You're kidding yourself and missing out on life if that's all you try.

dickieboy's avatar
dickieboy
44 posts
 

Oh, and go behind the ear, Very unobtrusive and don't require the miniaturization of in the ear units, which have tradeoffs regarding function and reliability. 

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