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Hearing aids & High End, who has 'em?

Pio1980

Pio1980

AK Member
I just got fitted yesterday at VA for an ear-crutch to stop folks from mumbling, should have done it 25 yrs ago. Been doing "High-end" quality audio since the mid-70s and still enjoy the "good stuff", I think it's purity and resolving power is a good part of the appeal for me.
I would think I'm not the only 'phile that has trouble understanding speech out there in the world and at the movies that enjoys a good stereo system at home. I have been doing some research on the 'net and there appears to be some devices specifically made for professional musicians and discriminating 'philes, very reassuring.
S.B.
 
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During a hearing test for a job back in 1990, my results were such that the nurse told me that if my ears were any worse, she'd recommend hearing aids in both ears. I've wondered if I really should get them.
Tom
 
Hi OvenMaster,I would at least go to a hearing-aid dealer and get a hearing test,the loss is usually so gradual that you might not really notice it until you do get some Hearing aids,my audiologist told me once the bridge between your hearing and your brain is gone it's gone for good.Got mine about 7 years ago,and didn't realize what I was missing.
 
Results of a bit of online research:
Best trustworthy deal on SOTA devices;
http://www.americahears.com/index.shtml
Musicians/Audiophile-specific device;
http://www.generalhearing.com/explore.cfm/simplicityotes/100010
Look at the spec pdf to get an idea of what the levels are about. Probably good for up to moderate loss but not profound deafness.

Mine is a BTE 'Interton Instinct' model NS-71 full-digital auto-adaptive DSP device, fitted by VA to my worst side. 1st one for me so there will be a learning curve for it's operation and how it may affect percieved naturalness of sounds. At the worst, I can tell that how much my high end really is shot and the thing clarifies voices very well without an increase in background garbage or other annoyances. It's an "open" design earpiece that allows the thing to function as a mid-upper midrange assist while allowing the mid-bass & low end to be heard au naturel unassisted. Since the ears tend to psyco-acoustically assist each other to an extent the benefit seems to be binaural. I have adjusted the level to clarify voices without an obvious constant awareness that the thing is there abnormally magnifying every sound and that makes it very easy to appreciate and still forget it's there. So far, music sounds OK thru it and I hear much more and better balanced upper end than before. Time will tell the rest.
S.B.
 
Thanks for the info. It is very timely for me as I am going to see the ear doc today and I am going to get a hearing aid.
I have had four operations on my left ear and only thing left is an aid.

I really liked the idea of the online service at it allows you access to the programming software to set up the hearing aid.
Plus the cost is like a quarter of the other prices I have been quoted.

I never knew that the FDA had its hands in keeping this so regulated and driving up the prices.
 
Chazb11 said:
I'm pretty sure Bose makes an entire audio system that will fit in your ear. You can kill 2 birds with 1 stone!
Click to expand...

It'd be safe to assume theirs would also make any other option look like a bargain if they follow true to form.
I've been making/modifying my own pocket radios for performance thru fitted earpieces since the late '60s and still use them. Thankfully the latest commercial earplugs are lightyears beyond the old Dahlberg hearing aid recievers I used to work with. I developed this concept primarily to put radio into my motorcycle helmet for long cross-country trips way back when.

One thing that made the frustration of not hearing folks clearly occasionally amusing was that what I heard was frequently much funnier than what they actually said. I could miss that but being re-immersed in the world will more than offset the freebie unintended humor.
S.B.
 
Loud background noises often prevent me from hearing a foreground conversation. Also, my wife accuses me of having "selective hearing"!
 
Pio1980 said:
Results of a bit of online research:
Mine is a BTE 'Interton Instinct' model NS-71 full-digital auto-adaptive DSP device
Click to expand...

I have not found much info on this one model, but if it uses the same ADRO (Adaptive Dynamic Range Optimization) signal processing as in their previous product, the Bionic, they are pretty much the best you can get to listen to Hi-Fi stereo, even more so with an open-fitting as you have!

Unlike traditional hearing aids that use dynamic compression, what this DSP does is analog to "continualy and smoothly adjusting the volume knob", thus conserving good real-time dynamics.

No, I do not work for Interton, but I do work for a hearing aid company who uses similar technology, but I'm not here to shill my products! :D

Good luck with that hearing aid.

az
 
My mother, my first wife and her mother all wore hearing aids, I imagine (and hope) there has been advances made over the years. Back in the seventies the controls on the in the ear type were not designed for people with arthritis. Max volume was controlled simply by letting the amp go into clipping. The end result of that was a headache at the end of the day. The best part was that while my Mother's aid that was built into the eyeglass frame at a cost of some $200+ contained less than $25 worth of electronics, I know because that was all the manufacturer charged her for simply replacing everything in the frame.

Don't go to a hearing aid seller for a test, just for laughs the one my Mother saw gave me the test. She said hold up your hand when you hear the tone, so I held up my hand. She said I have not turned up the volume yet but there was so much leakage in their system that the tones could not be totally shut off. Back then I had ears like a bird dog, still good but the higher freqs are going.
 
I was born "deaf". I use hearing aids all my life. I have love of music all my life which later I became more picky about how good my system sounds.

I am currently using Unitron Digital. I hate them when I listen to music. They would not adjust smoothly but rather kill the sweet sustained note or several notes going together. Then different frequency shows up, it would "blast" then keep the volume low. Also it has good LF response but don't have good HF response. I ended up getting Unitron analog which I hate also but it's more bearable. It would not self adjust like crazy but it has more HF but no LF. It would sound very tinny and lots of certain frequency spectrum is lost. One sound better than the other and other sound better than one. Why not both together? :gigglemad
 
this is all very interesting. I had a hearing test and found 2k cutoff in right and not a whole lot better in left but it's not muffled like the right. Guy quoted me 4K$ for a digital aid for the right only. I said bye bye.
What's the cost of some of the ones you guys talk about? I need to do some netsurfing me thinks.
 
Here's the story I got:

Here's a link to a company that sells hearing "aids". They have to call them something else to get around the laws, much like the auto magazines used to sell a "test pipe" to eliminate the catalytic converter in your car. They have a waiver you sign.



This is merely a link, not an endorsement or recommendation.

I understand Costco does something similar.

https://www.hearinghelpexpress.com/Default.aspx
 
goat67 said:
I take it you have good hearing feel blessed that you can joke about others.
Click to expand...

It was not my intention to offend anyone and you have my sincere apology if you were offended!

..and no I'm not particularly blessed with great hearing.
 
Chazb11 said:
It was not my intention to offend anyone and you have my sincere apology if you were offended!

..and no I'm not particularly blessed with great hearing.
Click to expand...


Your apologize is accepted and I need to apologize also, I was touchy about this because I remember what things should sound like and as I have lost a good portion of my hearing in my left ear and I miss it.
 
Good news then for me, that's how it sounds like it's working.
It's been remarkably easy to use, no negatives so far. Conversation in a crowded noisy cafe' a piece of cake, I can hear and understand everyone around a double table without the background racket intruding. DSP algorythm is impressively effective.
S.B.



audiozaz said:
I have not found much info on this one model, but if it uses the same ADRO (Adaptive Dynamic Range Optimization) signal processing as in their previous product, the Bionic, they are pretty much the best you can get to listen to Hi-Fi stereo, even more so with an open-fitting as you have!

Unlike traditional hearing aids that use dynamic compression, what this DSP does is analog to "continualy and smoothly adjusting the volume knob", thus conserving good real-time dynamics.

No, I do not work for Interton, but I do work for a hearing aid company who uses similar technology, but I'm not here to shill my products! :D

Good luck with that hearing aid.

az
Click to expand...
 
Tinnitus

I had an accident 3 years back that left me paralyzed on the right side and gave me tinnitus which, as they say in the Hub, is wicked bad.

The problem is that the ringing increases in volume and really "smears" the high end sound. My doctor said there was nothing to do about it. I stuck my head in the lion's mouth and said I wanted a second opinion. Naturally, he said "You dress funny too."

But the ringing really detracts from any listening enjoyment.
 
VA is upgrading me in 2 weeks for 2 new RITE open/ LF bypass type devices, I am really looking forward to this! I've been using one open BTE device for the last 3 years.
 
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