Question Quality HiFi..poor hearing.

[AdrianV911]

I love listening to quality HiFi..but I now need £3k hearing aids...am I wasting my money upgrading my system?

 

[Friesiansam]

I think the only way to answer that, is to get the hearing aids you need and, then judge for yourself. Only you will know how good your hearing is, with the new aids.

 

[Leon74]

You might want to tell your hearing care professional that you love listening to quality HiFi. It might have an influence on the choice o fyour hearing aids and/or how they are fine tuned.

 

[12th Monkey]

Whatever you conclude (and Sam is right), do please let us know how you get on. Most here are not in the first flush of youth so our hearing isn't going to be top notch. I know on one track I'm not hearing one particular, delicate sound like I used to.

 

[Al ears]

Whatever you conclude (and Sam is right), do please let us know how you get on. Most here are not in the first flush of youth so our hearing isn't going to be top notch. I know on one track I'm not hearing one particular, delicate sound like I used to.

Yes it would be interesting to know how you get on. I really need an aid in one ear and have to use the Balance control on my amp.

 

[manicm]

I love listening to quality HiFi..but I now need £3k hearing aids...am I wasting my money upgrading my system?

My mum has the same problem. She has trouble hearing high frequencies. She has the TV hooked up to a Denon Ceol N10 with the supplied speakers. On purchase the sound was clear and bright, but now there seems a lack of clarity - I can't tell if she blew a tweeter or not.

If you also have problems with high frequencies, then I have a solution which I will try with my mum too - get a really bright set of speakers. I'm thinking Klipsch RP500, or a good used B&W 607S2 for her system.

That should light the fire!

(My mum is also a bit stubborn, she doesn't want to wear bluetooth headphones I bought her, and she's not bothered recently with the hearing aids either. I had to scold her).

 

[AdrianV911]

I will take some time getting use to using my two hearings aids. I can now hear higher frequencies like bird song, squeaks in my car and Kate Bush

I have 4 microphones in the ear pieces that pick up the ambient sound and amplify the frequencies, picked up in the tests carried out by the audiologist, that have faded over time (too many rock concerts in my youth + loud headphones late at night after work).
The hearing aids are really used for enhancing speech and can be adjusted by AI technology (?) to various scenarios such as noisy bars, airplanes etc. However, like most HiFi users I seek clarity and quality of music as close to a live performance as possible… but at the moment it feels distorted and ‘altered’.
I hope it improves with time.
Do any other Forum members wear hearing aids? If so, has their listening to music improved?

 

[Gray]

… but at the moment it feels distorted and ‘altered’.
I hope it improves with time.

So do I Adrian 👍
Your description of the current sound is what I might have expected.
But if, as you say, they've been adjusted to boost where your response dips, there's every chance you'll adapt to the corrected sound.
Good luck.

 

[12th Monkey]

The hearing aids are really used for enhancing speech and can be adjusted by AI technology (?) to various scenarios such as noisy bars, airplanes etc.

Someone I know was showing me how his app could tailor what he hears - it's something that would have been unimaginable not too very long ago.

 

[nopiano]

I’m fortunate to have a friend not only with a very luxurious system, and a great interest in music, but he’s also done plenty of research on hearing aids. He’s a few years older than me, but only a few.

He has recently reverted to his Quad ELS which were new about five years ago (I never remember the model number; they were about five grand I think). They have that wonderful sense of music just ‘there’ rather than squirting from a box, albeit a subtle bass rather than a visceral one. The suit his hearing better than his other omni speakers, some hugely expensive German Physik models.

Anyway, the point is that he alighted on Widex aids as ones with minimal processing, as in particular it apparently minimises latency. Hence one doesn’t hear live and amplified sounds as a slight echo as can happen. These were especially recommended by his audiologist because of his interest in music. Had he been more interested in conversation correction then others might have been preferable.

Meanwhile, and not quite the same, I’ve just bought Apple AirPod Pro 2 because they have a hear through function and are apparently a bit like some better aids, albeit at a tenth of the price. I’m pretty impressed so far but have only tried on three occasions so far. Certainly helped me realise that in-ear monitors/phones can sound better than I’d imagined.

 

[Rodolfo]

I’m fortunate to have a friend not only with a very luxurious system, and a great interest in music, but he’s also done plenty of research on hearing aids. He’s a few years older than me, but only a few.

He has recently reverted to his Quad ELS which were new about five years ago (I never remember the model number; they were about five grand I think). They have that wonderful sense of music just ‘there’ rather than squirting from a box, albeit a subtle bass rather than a visceral one. The suit his hearing better than his other omni speakers, some hugely expensive German Physik models.

Anyway, the point is that he alighted on Widex aids as ones with minimal processing, as in particular it apparently minimises latency. Hence one doesn’t hear live and amplified sounds as a slight echo as can happen. These were especially recommended by his audiologist because of his interest in music. Had he been more interested in conversation correction then others might have been preferable.

Meanwhile, and not quite the same, I’ve just bought Apple AirPod Pro 2 because they have a hear through function and are apparently a bit like some better aids, albeit at a tenth of the price. I’m pretty impressed so far but have only tried on three occasions so far. Certainly helped me realise that in-ear monitors/phones can sound better than I’d imagined.

The special AirPods are recommended only for those with mild to moderate hearing loss. Best listening possible to you.

 

[nopiano]

The special AirPods are recommended only for those with mild to moderate hearing loss. Best listening possible to you.

Thanks, that’s what I was told. I thought if I experiment a bit I might be able to swallow the idea of proper aids when the time comes.

It’s frustrating because many voices I can hear perfectly well though I am conscious of a dip around 2kHz so everyone sounds a bit muffled, almost like they have a cold. But live music, which I have attended quite a lot in the last six months, is pretty much perfect - although the triangle is a bit subdued - but a full orchestra is always powerful and far louder than most domestic Hifi.

 

[AdrianV911]

It is a muffled world we live in, for the slightly hard of hearing, and it is clarity that I / we seek. My hearing aids have brought to life the higher frequencies I have been missing, however when alone I tend to remove them. They are comfortable, they are an enhancement on my listening ability but I prefer my own little world at times. However,I then feel sorry for my neighbours when I'm listening to my music as I have the volume loud. I can tell the difference between differing inputs. I tried Fleetwood Mac: Rumours, as I had it in 4 formats, Vinyl, CD, Spotify and Tidal (non compressed) .. Vinyl is by far the best. So smooth and suited to my tastes. I was invited to a recital at a local church hall and heard a tenor sing with a sound that was astounding (without hearing aids - me - not the tenor ). can this ever be replicated by electric means, amplified and replayed.