I will have to decide whether it would be worth engaging in a trial with one of the better aids. I experience only pleasure
when listening to my high end home system. But, I am curious to hear aids which will compensate for my loss without
distorting the sound. My Mt Sinai audiologist insists that they have fitted high end Widex aids in folks like me looking to
improve their ability to enjoy reproduced music at home. They emphasize that I could return them if the experiment is
a failure.
I have a semi-related question to this discussion. Does wearing a hearing cause any issues with wearing glasses due to the behind-the-ear hearing air interferring with the glass’s earpiece?
In my case, sort of. Taking the glasses on or off causes a very loud rustling as the ear pieces touch the aids and my hair. It’s not comfortable. With a mask which uses the ear, all three just don’t work well and aren’t comfortable.
But most of the time I don’t really notice when I have the aids and glasses on together.
My wife says it depends on the design of the glasses. Thicker plastic frames like her Ray Ban sunglasses annoy her when worn with aids. Thin lightweight frames like the Austrian manufacturer Silhouette are fine.
In my case, my aids and the glasses were uncomfortably fighting for space. Eventually I realized that for me and my ears, the only way the two devices could peacefully coexist was for the hearing aids to sit just “outboard” of the glasses earpiece. I would guess that if your ears tend to hug the side of your head tightly, you might have a harder time fitting them both in that constricted space (not that my ears flap in the breeze).
Thanks Ted. I seem to recall that you are using the Oticon. I have an appointment next week using the Widex.
I am able to hear virtually every change I make in my system. In recent months I’ve installed many Audioquest
Dragon power cords, and this weekend the Firebird interconnect to feed the amps. But, I am curious as to what
the system would sound like when my upper frequency deficits are neutralized. Much of what I have read tells me
that even the highest quality hearing aids are unable to, without adding distortion, accomplish the same task that
they are designed to tackle at the level of speech. Some guys then choose not to use the aids for listening to music
through their high end audio systems. What a conondrum.
Thanks for all your insightful comments. Are there alternative, totally in ear aids, that do not have behind the ear components? Just now looking online and it seems that there are. Unless they don’t show the integral behind-ear piece. Are these totally in-ear aids as effective as the others?
That’s a question best answered by an audiologist who can evaluate your particular situation. Online advice only goes so far because everyone has different ears, issues, and preferences. FWIW, my wife tried in-the-ear aids and hated them. Found them very uncomfortable and created a quite unnatural sense of hearing. She said the in-the-ear aids created a hearing experience like being in a tiny, claustrophobia inducing room with no ambience. The open ear canal transducer with the behind the ear aids create a natural ambience for her. Obviously one sees lots of folks wearing in the ear aids so they have to work for some.
Thanks for those examples, emphasizing the point that individual differences are important to not overlook.
It is now August and I have much to report. I did a trial run of the Widex hearing aids, recommended by the hearing unit at Mt. Sinai Hospital. I kept them for two weeks and was never happy wearing them, on a plane, in restaurants, watching tv, and especially listening to my high end audio system.
But, I did not give up. Next it was recommended that I go to a hearing aid office in Manhattan, The
audiologist said that a few months ago an American company came out with a new hearing aid which
was designed with a wider dynamic range and maybe it would work. This company is Starkey, made in America. I am presently on a trial run with them. Last week I spent considerable time ABing, listening to my PS Audio system with the SACD player, the DAC II, and Aspen 20 speakers with and without the Starkey hearing aids. These aids are terrific. When listening through the Starkeys I reduced the volume on the system. When listening without the hearing aids I increased the volume on
the system. I concluded that, while they sounded close to each other, I found listening to the system without the hearing aids to be the preferred position. I heard an ever so slight subtle distortion of the high frequencies through the Starkeys. So, I plan on returning the Starkeys and getting my almost $5000. back.
Perhaps in several years, after further deterioration of my hearing I may want to find out if there is
an even better hearing aid out there with even less added distortion than with the Starkeys.
Thanks for your review!
Question, as it comes as a surprise: don’t you need hearing aids for anything else than music reproduction?
Another thing comes to mind: do you happen to know if there’s compression involved in that (dsp) processing? That could perhaps explain the experienced distortion.
I just got the Phonak Audeo Lumity 90 RL hearing aides a couple of days ago. So far I’m very happy with them for general use and listening to music. I didn’t realize how much of the high frequencies I was missing. It sounded like the top end blossomed. Now I have a very expensive stereo system that I listen to through tiny-micro speakers in each ear. Very surprising that it works.
The audiologist originally recommended Oticon. When I told her I used Android devices, she switched to Phonak. Insurance paid for them, so I don’t know the cost.
My latest hearing aid findings
Link not working
I do not know how to be able to post. I tried. Can you provide some help?
Two years ago I reported my history with using hearing aids to listen to my high end audio system. I tried two expensive hearing aids: Widack and Sparkey, Later I tried Costco’s Phillips. None of them were satisfying. The first two were quite expensive around 4K.
I recently ordered and received Apple’s Ipod 2 Pro, which is set up to be used as a hearing aid.
Black Friday price was less than $200. These are really rather wonderful especially for watching TV. There is just enough of an emphasis on my weak upper frequencies to make
dialoque on tv totally understandable. And, when used with my high end PSAudio equipped
sound system it too is totally acceptable. Again, it adds just a smidgeon of those upper end
frequencies without distortion. I highly urge anyone looking for hearing aid assistance to try the Apple Ipod 2 Pro.
Yes. Mine cost me about $6k, more or less. Phonak. IME, if your hearing loss is significant, you should absolutely not hesitate. I have not tried other brands or models so far, just went with what my audiologist recommended. There really have only been two issues, the more minor one (to me) being that while the algorithms they program into these things are darn good, they will sometimes be a little imprecise with spatial cues. But the benefits GREATLY outweigh that. The other issue is… I am pretty into headphones and with tight/small cups you get feedback if you wear the hearing aids. I experimented some with EQ’ing and just using 'phones without the hearing aids, but I settled pretty quickly on selling one or two pairs that just wouldn’t work, going with thicker/stiffer pads on one or two other pairs, and treating myself to a pair or two of new ones. Achieving a totally satisfactory result now, with the easiest-to-wear by far being Aryas and Dan Clark E3’s, both of which have pretty ginormous cups. but in the end I kept all my headphones except for one or two (the original Mezes and I forget what else.)
Anyway - every situation is different. But if anything I have been kicking myself for waiting as long as I did.
I’ve been using the ReSound NEXIA 9 aids for the last two months. I knew that I had a frequency drop off issue starting at 1.5K Hz, but not to the extent that was demonstrated to me once I began wearing them. It was literally a night and day difference.
I had them adjusted for default volume settings, frequency curves and for an aid feeding back due to one ear canal being a bit narrower - requiring a smaller flexible ear mold. Fitting wise, they are small and comfortable to the point that I sometimes have come close to jumping into the shower with them on.
I wear glasses for reading, headphones for movie viewing. This is when it becomes annoying. As Ted and others had mentioned, I encounter uncomfortable rustling noises and pressure from the glasses on the aids. What I do like is that they are a fast charging design with a portable charging case, good for three full recharges if not near an electrical outlet.
With music, I am now hearing those frequencies and harmonics that had gradually alluded me for the last few decades. I actually had been unable to tune my acoustic guitars by ear because I was unable to hear the harmonics. I find the biggest issues I have is with how upper register instruments and voices are recorded. These can sometimes become distorted or “crispy”, requiring minor volume adjustments. What was surprising to me was that I realized I needed to replace my speakers because my aging ears could now discern sound so much better with the aids.
The NEXIA 9’s don’t sound completely natural, but then again, I’ve got these things sitting in my ears - natural is not having them at all. The Bluetooth app does have settings to compensate/adapt to varying degrees, to the types of environmental situations you might encounter. There is also a volume control button on the aid itself in which I can lower them in a hurry, such as when standing on a subway platform, or dealing with an extremely loud passing emergency vehicle. I have yet to try them in a public music venue such as the opera or an orchestral/chamber music setting. That, I assume, will be interesting to experience.
Again, they’re not perfect, but perfection is still a decade or two away at this pace. What I wish they did have was a 12 band frequency control that I could adjust myself without having to seek a professional to do for me. I find communicating to someone what sounds good or not is like trying to describe an elephant to a being from another planet. In the meantime, these will have to suffice.
Thanks I appreciate hearing your experience.