Hearing aids & High End, who has 'em?
- Thread starter Pio1980
- Start date
Lapslah
Super Member
Great thread! I have fairly severe tinnitus accompanied by moderate HF loss above 6k. I was tested at the end of last year and the audiologist told me I should get hearing aids. Of course, like most people, I shrank back from the idea. The doc was very understanding and didn't try to force the issue, saying "You shouldn't get them until you're ready".
I have several issues with getting crutches, some of which you all have helped assuage here in this thread:
- As the doc explained to me, the programmable HAs intended to help with tinnitus simply introduce other frequencies to "distract" you from the sound of the ringing, they don't actually do anything to silence the ring. I'm pretty good at ignoring it most of the time anyway, so this sounds like it would be worse to me.
- I'm concerned with the fidelity I will get when listening to music. Again, as it was explained to me, HAs are designed to improve intelligibility - not to give great sound. As a former live sound engineer, I liken this to a monitor mix vs. a FOH mix - the best monitor mixes sound like crap, but give you what you need. Yes, this would be great for use in daily conversations when I do sometimes have trouble, but I'm not willing to have everything in my life sound like an old AM radio.
- I'm a professional singer. This causes several issues. I need to be able to hear myself and those around me accurately, with clarity and balance. I need to have the ability to use In-Ear Monitors. Finally, I have a strong inkling that HAs would make me persona non gratis on most gigs. Who's going to hire a singer who can't hear? (Of course, we all know I'd hear BETTER, but the impression is there nonetheless.)
So I still haven't bit the bullet. The funny thing is that I expected my wife to be disappointed when I decided not to do anything. After all, she's the one who's constantly repeating herself. But instead she said she was relieved that I didn't come home with HAs. Go figure.
I have several issues with getting crutches, some of which you all have helped assuage here in this thread:
- As the doc explained to me, the programmable HAs intended to help with tinnitus simply introduce other frequencies to "distract" you from the sound of the ringing, they don't actually do anything to silence the ring. I'm pretty good at ignoring it most of the time anyway, so this sounds like it would be worse to me.
- I'm concerned with the fidelity I will get when listening to music. Again, as it was explained to me, HAs are designed to improve intelligibility - not to give great sound. As a former live sound engineer, I liken this to a monitor mix vs. a FOH mix - the best monitor mixes sound like crap, but give you what you need. Yes, this would be great for use in daily conversations when I do sometimes have trouble, but I'm not willing to have everything in my life sound like an old AM radio.
- I'm a professional singer. This causes several issues. I need to be able to hear myself and those around me accurately, with clarity and balance. I need to have the ability to use In-Ear Monitors. Finally, I have a strong inkling that HAs would make me persona non gratis on most gigs. Who's going to hire a singer who can't hear? (Of course, we all know I'd hear BETTER, but the impression is there nonetheless.)
So I still haven't bit the bullet. The funny thing is that I expected my wife to be disappointed when I decided not to do anything. After all, she's the one who's constantly repeating herself. But instead she said she was relieved that I didn't come home with HAs. Go figure.
Pio1980
AK Member
I definitely wouldn't recommend the Aleras to a singer from my experience, the follow-on SOTA ReSound Verso might be suitable if you go the High-End route. Costco frequently offers their own issues of recent model quality professionally-fitted hearing aids at deep discount and you can try-before-committing. Nonetheless, behind-the-ear types are more versatile and adaptable than the concealed in-the-canal types. I doubt anyone will judge your performance by the devices, besides on-stage in-ear monitors and Blue Tooth have made ear crutches fashionable if not almost invisible to consciousness.