Any "audiophiles" with hearing loss?

[Zekeman]

Include me in the club. Damn Tinnitus...continuously! Never ends! REcengly got worse.

 

[BigElCat]

I was really excited to get back into the mid-fi-Hi-fi world, and enjoyed hitting the garage sale-thrift stores looking for treasures.

Then Meniere's disease set in, and with the tinnitus and loss of lower frequency response in my left ear, I said "What's the point?" and just dropped the whole thing.

Eh.... now I miss it. I can still enjoy music, and I can still tell bad sound from good. It's just that my diminishing returns curve flattens out faster than most.

Anyone else in that boat? I'm curious what you get out of the audio bug.

Diminished low frequency response is easy to compensate; get one or more quality sub-woofer(s). High end loss, like mine, is more of a challenge...you need a high resolution system...but it can be done to some extent.

I have tinnitus 24/7. I just have to refrain from listening at volume levels that will make it worse. I pretend it's a carrier signal, and I'm tuned into God.

 

[theophile]

I've listened to a few systems put together by other people. After hearing them, I decided that the owner must be hard of hearing.

 

[JoeESP9]

I've listened to a few systems put together by other people. After hearing them, I decided that the owner must be hard of hearing.

I've heard a couple of systems "tuned" that way. They make me want to cut off my ears and run away.

 

[merrylander]

Tinnitus? Hell yes as my doctor says - it comes with maturity. Which is probably his polite way of saying that at 85 what do you expect. However, every system in the house is tuned to the local classical station and as I type this a Yamaha CR-800 is making nice with a pair of NS-690s

 

[theophile]

I've heard a couple of systems "tuned" that way. They make me want to cut off my ears and run away.

I understand that one. The one's that most stay in my mind are the really 'sat-on', muffled, confused, indistinct, lifeless, compressed, vague, systems.

I listened to a very expensive system which the dealer had partnered with the manufacturer's second from bottom model loudspeaker(following the company's 'Source First' philosophy). It was very weird sounding. Possibly the worst proper hi-fi system I've ever heard. Extremely difficult to perceive obvious detail on a well recorded album. Very congealed, murky, phasey, covered, muddled. This was extreme. I look back and I can see that something was severely wrong. The dealer was sitting in the chair next to me. Eyes closed. Head a'bobbin'. Foot a' tappin'. Big smile. Clearly thoroughly enjoying himself. As I look back on it, I consider now that he'd probably never heard the album before. It was a very good performance and when replayed on a well sorted system, a good recording. This was definitely not great replay when considered from the quality of the recording but I guess that he was getting enough of the vibe of the music from the vocal(Phoebe Snow). She definitely had a swagger to her singing. He couldn't be expected to miss quality and detail that he'd never heard before and he was reacting to the groovy happy swing from Phoebe.

It really didn't do justice to the record however groovy the music was. There had to be something wrong. At the end of the side, he turns to me(smiling) and says "What did you think of that?". The only honest answer I could give him was: "I've never heard anything like it". If I'm lucky, I hope never to hear anything like it again...

Phoebe:

 

[JoeESP9]

Must have been a Linn dealer!?

Your post demonstrates why I think classical or any other totally acoustic music is the best for auditioning gear. Most people have a pretty good idea how that sort of music sounds. While there may not be that many who attend classical concerts (I do) everybody and their "brother" has an acoustic guitar. So the sound is familiar to all.

If the LP in question was Second Childhood, I'm familiar with it. IMO it's not murky or any of those other things.

 

[theophile]

Must have been a Linn dealer!?

Your post demonstrates why I think classical or any other totally acoustic music is the best for auditioning gear. Most people have a pretty good idea how that sort of music sounds. While there may not be that many who attend classical concerts (I do) everybody and their "brother" has an acoustic guitar. So the sound is familiar to all.

If the LP in question was Second Childhood, I'm familiar with it. IMO it's not murky or any of those other things.

I agree. I even use superb recordings to 'calibrate' my system. The best ones just get better and better and better as one finesses the fine tuning of everything. It has to be a very exceptional system to satisfy me now. My home system has set the bar extremely high. I understand what the fuss is about top-level turntable sound. It is bedazzling to have life sized performers singing and playing in front of you when the recording permits along with low level detail that seems as subtle as a wisp of smoke or or the finest mist is visually. The need for the ability to refer back to the sound of things in real life(like the acoustic instruments you referred to) pretty much to me mandates those recordings. One other very,very important issue for the recording to be devastatingly great and valid as a yardstick for naturalness is that the entire ensemble be captured by the fewest number of microphones and subjected to the least amount of processing whilst traversing the least amount of circuitry.

The album that was playing that day was the self-titled album named 'Phoebe Snow. The side which began with 'Let The Good Times Roll'.

 

[JoeESP9]

I just put that LP on my Amazon next order list. Thanks!

 

[theophile]

You will never regret it. The sax on "It Must Be Sunday" is Zoot Sims.

 

[reydelaplaya]

I'm pushing 50 - technically 45, but gotta start accepting that milestone soon enough.

I have worked in restaurants, bars, and nightclubs on an almost permanent basis since I was in highschool.

I've seen more live bands than I can remember. Club music to 11 or higher - the works. Many nights getting back to my quiet house with my ears ringing as I fell asleep.

I can still hear to ridiculous detail. Like the cliché, I can hear a pin drop from across the room. I can hear the subtle differences in my neighbors' cars when they're coming and going. Since neither of my vehicles has a stereo, I drive in almost virtual silence, and love it (my friends hate riding with me). I have memorized the particular drone from the engines, and can hear when one is a little off, or a strange new noise or squeak - stuff most people wouldn't even notice.

When I listen to music, I can pick out specific background instruments and focus in to listen to what notes, melody, or beats they're playing. I can get absolutely lost in the detail. I can hear the differences and qualities in each different pair of headphones and speakers I have with no trouble at all. And not even at loud volumes.

In short, I have strangely seemed to have not lost (or losing) my hearing in this respect, and don't suffer from tinnitus - though some stores or buildings I've been in I've noticed a constant, very high pitched whine. Maybe from an AC or something through the PA system? Not in all places though.


But...

Put me in a public area, be it the cafeteria at the university, the mall, or a baseball game - any place where many people are talking, even at a little distance all around me, and it all just sounds like loud radio static white noise. To the point where I can't really even hear the person I'm having a conversation with. There's just too much background noise and it all just blends together.

My friends have suggested I get hearing aids, but I'm pretty sure they won't do anything other than just amplify all the background noise as well.

Strange, really. But there doesn't seem to be too much I can do about it. Was it caused by my misspent youth life in loud bars and clubs? Who knows?

As much as I love listening to my stereo, one thing I'm sure of though, nothing sounds as good to me as pure silence.

There's that sound-proofed room I've read about on the net that'll supposedly drive people crazy if they stay in too long. I say, sign me up.

Reydelaplauer,.. Your problem is called "room deafness" I have the same condition, my damage was caused by being on the flight line in the early days before ear cups. There is a notch in my hearing that shows up in a hearing test. The notch is very specific, if a guy blows a whistle in a TV movie, I don't hear it at all!

I payed 5 grand for a pair of special hearing aids. They only bring up the notched region. I use them when we go out for dinner with friends. Standard hearing aids will not work because they amplify the background noise. I don't use them at home when I listen to music, though. So, there is a cure, although it is expensive.

I just read this over on science daily - apparently it may be more brain related than hearing loss.

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2016/10/161018141152.htm

On a side note, and I don't mean to alarm anybody, but has anyone heard from @JURB? Seems he hasn't been back here since early May.

 

[Poultrygeist]

Firing M42 Duster 40mm cannons and quad 50's while serving in the National Guard should have taken it's toll.

Never wore ear plugs as to do so was very risky. If you couldn't hear the command "cook off" which meant dismount and run like hell you could be blow up by a an

exploding chamber ( a jammed double feed in a hot breech ).

 

[rogerfederer]

so i have tinnitus and had an audiologist exam a few years back: upper frequencies deficit,worse in the left ear. i'm thinking of biting the bullet and getting in-the-canal hearing aids. my insurance isn't terrible. has anyone bought from costco? supposedly they have cut deals with 2 of the top companies and have much better prices. but their staff may not be audiologists (not sure re this).

 

[Pio1980]

so i have tinnitus and had an audiologist exam a few years back: upper frequencies deficit,worse in the left ear. i'm thinking of biting the bullet and getting in-the-canal hearing aids. my insurance isn't terrible. has anyone bought from costco? supposedly they have cut deals with 2 of the top companies and have much better prices. but their staff may not be audiologists (not sure re this).

They may refer you to an audiologist for exam and charting.
The behind the ear type with open cup sound tube or in the canal open cup receiver is usually preferable if it can work for mid-high hearing loss. The aid only has to process the deficient range and lets the canal "breathe". Lower end loss or full range loss may require a different arrangement.

 

[superdog]

Had perfect hearing all my life.That changed about three weeks ago.Not sure what the cause it yet.Primarily my left ear.

 

[theophile]

Some hearing dysfunction relates to blocked Eustachian tubes.

 

[Poultrygeist]

so i have tinnitus and had an audiologist exam a few years back: upper frequencies deficit,worse in the left ear. i'm thinking of biting the bullet and getting in-the-canal hearing aids. my insurance isn't terrible. has anyone bought from costco? supposedly they have cut deals with 2 of the top companies and have much better prices. but their staff may not be audiologists (not sure re this).

I once worked in Voc Rehab and bought lots of folks binaural hearing aids but sadly too many ended up in dresser drawers. It's not easy to wear two aids and hear only amplified sound. Many larger cities have locally funded hearing and speech centers which have a variety of aids from different companies rather than a single line. One should audition hearing aids just as you would audio gear.

 

[mmickk]

I've listened to a few systems put together by other people. After hearing them, I decided that the owner must be hard of hearing.

This probably describes me. I know I probably don't hear much above 11kh from the unofficial tests i have tried. In both of my systems I run old Polk speakers, SDA 2b and RTA 12c's that both have the original sl2000 tweeters still in place. I figure my hearing cuts out before the reported 15kh spike so I cant hear it. They can sound a bit strident at times to me even with my hearing the way it is. I don't really have any friends that are into the hobby so I cant really depend on their comments though they seem to like what they hear. I figure that it pleases me so don't worry to much about it but I do wonder what someone who knows good balanced sound would say.

 

[Pio1980]

I once worked in Voc Rehab and bought lots of folks binaural hearing aids but sadly too many ended up in dresser drawers. It's not easy to wear two aids and hear only amplified sound. Many larger cities have locally funded hearing and speech centers which have a variety of aids from different companies rather than a single line. One should audition hearing aids just as you would audio gear.

The old analogue aids sounded a lot like what you hear when you make a home microphone recording, rather than how normal hearing sounds. Folks generally found the experience annoying, and only used the aids when absolutely necessary.
Early "digital" aids had problems with adaptation and sound, modern aids at their best sound like natural hearing and become part of ones life, like properly prescribed and fitted eyeglasses.

 

[rogerfederer]

Any modern aids you can recommend?