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FargateOne,

There's also a good chance that the aids will improve your tinnitus; mine was greatly reduced.

It would be so great but I read a lot and it seems that 60% have this result. But I keep hope because the correction of my earing loss is only at 70% for the beginning. Finger cross. If it happens I will cry.
 
Discussion starter · #163 ·
Hi
thank for your thread. I am 63 years and a kind OCD guy with sound. I suffer of tinnitus since 30 years, a gunshot accident. I have a dip hole at 4K FR. Since 2 years, now it is my old age that worsen my hearing losses. I resist to get aids because I was sure that I would never enjoy anymore to listen music. I invested 10K$ in a 5.1 system and countless hours with REW in DIY room treatment. Sice first week of February I noticed another loss in my left ear at 4 an 5K fr. The "s" and "see" sound are shifting to my right ear since then. A sound stage shifting strong enough to remove (destroy) all pleasure to listen my system. I shut it downed. I was too proud toaccept the fact that I am old and need help.
Last Monday I went to my audioprothesist and I am trying Widex Moment. After, 2 days, yesterday I tested with a cd of music. It was not perfect but I see light at the end of the tunnel. My audioprotheset said to me that it will take a while and many trial and error test befor to get it right but she is confident to succeed and I am too.
I will report mmore later.
But here is my message: do not give up hope if you have earing lost, I think it is possble to maybe continue to enjoy our system.
I am really glad to "hear" this, especially since I started this thread but after recovering from appendicitis it turned out I did not require hearing aids (at least for now)!
 
I am really glad to "hear" this, especially since I started this thread but after recovering from appendicitis it turned out I did not require hearing aids (at least for now)!
After two years wearing Oticon OPN-1 aids, I am now wearing Oticon OPN S 1, which provided a surprisingly large improvement (although at considerable expense).

Competent hearing aids do not just boost high frequencies like an equalizer; they use multi-band compression to bring the high frequency energy that is below one's current hearing threshold to beyond the threshold so that this energy is audible. Because they have a narrower dynamic range to work with (for example, if your 6 kHz threshold is 60 dB SPL, everything below 60 dB must be amplified to be above that level), it is tricky to get the highs to sound natural.

A live symphony concert is one of the most challenging tests for a hearing aid if you have been into high-quality music reproduction for a long time and calibrate your ears to "the absolute sound." When I went to the symphony, it was tricky to get a setting on the OPN 1 that didn't bother me in some subtle way--mostly "grainy" highs, which I suspect was caused by the compression's not gracefully handling HF energy that was right around my HF hearing threshold.

One thing that I noticed immediately about the OPN S 1 devices is that they made high frequencies sound less artificial when I listened to classical music recordings--I not longer heard grainy highs. Unfortunately, due to COVID-19 I have not been able to attend live symphonic performances but based on the results with recorded music, I would say that anyone who auditioned the OPN 1 devices and still needs correction should audition the OPN S 1 because the improvement is not subtle.

That said, modern hearing aids are very adjustable. It is very difficult to say that one aid sounds better than the other because the programming is such a large part of the aid's sound. The main advantage of the OPN S 1 over the OPN 1 is that the S 1 has about 6 dB better acoustic feedback suppression, so the audiologist has significantly more ability to adjust the devices to one's exact prescription if this would have previously been limited by the need to prevent feedback.

Separately, the additional dynamic range in modern hearing aids does not necessarily come from 24-bit conversion. To increase battery life compared to implementing a full 24-bit converter, some use an analog/digital compander around a 16-bit converter. This is implement with an analog compressor before the A/D converter, and the compressor coveys its gain reduction to the hearing aid's signal processing so that it can undo the analog compression by providing exactly complementary expansion in the digital domain.
 
I found this hearing test on line which claims to be quite accurate (but I hope not). If my ears are really as bad as this thing says they are, I am no longer qualified to be an audiophile. It has probably been 15 years since I last had an official hearing test, and while it was far less than perfect, given my age, I was not particularly concerned. The results of this test are more disturbing.

Just in case you are interested in seeing if your ears are as good as you think they are - or hopefully, you can clearly prove this to be very inaccurate, here is the link and I used a reasonably good pair of headphones to take the test. Looking for feedback from those who know how good their hearing actually is.

https://hearingtest.online/
 
Discussion starter · #166 ·
I found this hearing test on line which claims to be quite accurate (but I hope not). If my ears are really as bad as this thing says they are, I am no longer qualified to be an audiophile. It has probably been 15 years since I last had an official hearing test, and while it was far less than perfect, given my age, I was not particularly concerned. The results of this test are more disturbing.

Just in case you are interested in seeing if your ears are as good as you think they are - or hopefully, you can clearly prove this to be very inaccurate, here is the link and I used a reasonably good pair of headphones to take the test. Looking for feedback from those who know how good their hearing actually is.

https://hearingtest.online/
It doesn't hurt once a year to have your ears cleaned by a good ENT doctor. You wouldn't believe the gobs of ear wax that can accumulate!
 
It doesn't hurt once a year to have your ears cleaned by a good ENT doctor. You wouldn't believe the gobs of ear wax that can accumulate!

Once "Rona" leaves the building, I will make an appointment. I did just listen to some test tones on my speakers and did considerably better than I did using this test and headphones
 
Once "Rona" leaves the building, I will make an appointment. I did just listen to some test tones on my speakers and did considerably better than I did using this test and headphones
IMHO only a audiologist professionnal can do a valid test. It is so a bad new to know that your ears are not as good as before, don't be scared for nothing. Go to a professionnal and wait for his advice.



I am still in the process to evaluate if I will buy hearing aids. It is difficult to get it OK for music with my audiophile system. But, the advantage of having a short treatment delay (0.5ms instead of 3 to 5 ms delay) is noticeably reducing comb filtering and help to feel the sound more natural for me.
 
If you're talking about the delay between the incoming and HA sound, that's an interesting point.

Which HA has only .5 ms delay?

When I finally (after 10 years) decided to try hearing aids, first week of March this year, my hearing care professional just received the new Widex Moment which is the one with an allegibly 0.5ms delay in its "Pure mode". I can't compare with other company but I can compare this program with an other program with the same aids and the difference is clear: more natural, no "tunnel" or pipe" like effect or less "metallic sound.
 
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Which model of the Widex Moment?

There are three - 220, 330, and 440.
All Momoent have the Pure sound program. Numbers are for more or less others programs. Info at Widex web site.
 
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Discussion starter · #173 ·
Great video discussing how our hearing changes with age and why for most of us older audiophiles our hearing "loss" does not prevent us from enjoying our music!

 
This is one of the better threads on this topic, so perhaps worth reviving.

I have typical age-related high frequency loss (I'm about to turn 70), and have been wearing Widex Unique 330's for the last 3 years or so. They help significantly with speech comprehension, especially female voices, which was the main issue leading me to get them in the first place.

But even so, I find myself relying on subtitles since I will miss perhaps 5-10% of the dialogue, which can often be crucial in following the plot. I have boosted the Center Channel to try and compensate, but it is still problematic. This is more with some movies than others, but still.

The other issue I have is that deep bass overloads the hearing aids, resulting in a 'crackling' artifact which really diminishes the enjoyment of the LFE channel. I do have a massive subwoofer (a DIY, built by another AVS-er, with 4 18" Stereo Integrity Drivers, and powered by an iNuke 6000) - it moves a lot of air, so perhaps this is inevitable.

I would consider getting new Hearing Aids, or other suggestions on dealing with the bass overload issue. With Covid, I have no short-term plans to return to my Audiologist (who is actually pretty good), but want to do some research on options, anticipating being able to pursue this in perhaps a few months time. And improving speech comprehension is another area where I'd be willing to spend some money if it would help appreciably.

Any thoughts appreciated.
 
Discussion starter · #175 ·
I think hearing aids for audiophiles are like everything else - demo if you can. One brand might do better for you and solve your dilemma - or perhaps not. And the latest Phonak, which impressed me the most a few years back (turned out my hearing was apparently depressed thanks to a bout of developing appendicitis and once that was dealt with my demos determined that hearing aids for me, at least for now, are not necessary), can be remote programmed and changed by the Audiologist. Possibly changes can be programmed to deal with this bass issue? Audiophile and extreme home theater listening especially with multiple deep low suwoofers is such a niche that the only audiologist who might have an idea on how to fix your issue is the one referenced above in this thread who gave a presentation a few years back to the San Francisco Audiophile Society. If you look up their website you can find their presentation.
 
This is one of the better threads on this topic, so perhaps worth reviving.

I have typical age-related high frequency loss (I'm about to turn 70), and have been wearing Widex Unique 330's for the last 3 years or so. They help significantly with speech comprehension, especially female voices, which was the main issue leading me to get them in the first place.

But even so, I find myself relying on subtitles since I will miss perhaps 5-10% of the dialogue, which can often be crucial in following the plot. I have boosted the Center Channel to try and compensate, but it is still problematic. This is more with some movies than others, but still.

The other issue I have is that deep bass overloads the hearing aids, resulting in a 'crackling' artifact which really diminishes the enjoyment of the LFE channel. I do have a massive subwoofer (a DIY, built by another AVS-er, with 4 18" Stereo Integrity Drivers, and powered by an iNuke 6000) - it moves a lot of air, so perhaps this is inevitable.

I would consider getting new Hearing Aids, or other suggestions on dealing with the bass overload issue. With Covid, I have no short-term plans to return to my Audiologist (who is actually pretty good), but want to do some research on options, anticipating being able to pursue this in perhaps a few months time. And improving speech comprehension is another area where I'd be willing to spend some money if it would help appreciably.

Any thoughts appreciated.
A little update since 9 months ago. I made the jump and bought Widex Moment top of the line. Each earing aid must be choosen for each hearing problem. I ear very good from 20Hz to 3KHz so must are open (but with ear canal mold support) so the speaker is less for bass than high FR. I am very srprise of the sound listening movies on my 5.1 system. It seems natural all the way. For stereo music listening session, it is a little less good but my audioprothesist is working hard to find a programm with le less artifacts in the sound. Puresound programming is good for this not the top but better than I expected.
 
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I think hearing aids for audiophiles are like everything else - demo if you can. One brand might do better for you and solve your dilemma - or perhaps not. And the latest Phonak, which impressed me the most a few years back (turned out my hearing was apparently depressed thanks to a bout of developing appendicitis and once that was dealt with my demos determined that hearing aids for me, at least for now, are not necessary), can be remote programmed and changed by the Audiologist. Possibly changes can be programmed to deal with this bass issue? Audiophile and extreme home theater listening especially with multiple deep low suwoofers is such a niche that the only audiologist who might have an idea on how to fix your issue is the one referenced above in this thread who gave a presentation a few years back to the San Francisco Audiophile Society. If you look up their website you can find their presentation.
Thanks for the reply.

Regarding the SFAS Audiologist, I found the names Peter Marincovich and Joseph Hardeman - is this who you're referring to? If so, I'll see if I can manage to contact them directly.

As for programming, I actually have the Compass software and USBLink adapter so I can modify the programming. But the lowest frequency bands there were nowhere close to the 10-30Hz that is causing the problem. So it doesn't seem that this would address the problem, but I would certainly defer to an Audiologist who would suggest otherwise.

Thanks for the leads.
 
My daughter is working on her doctorate in audiology so when I get to that stage, she can hopefully hook me up. :)
 
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A little update since 9 months ago. I made the jump and bought Widex Moment top of the line. Each earing aid must be choosen for each hearing problem. I ear very good from 20Hz to 3KHz so must are open (but with ear canal mold support) so the speaker is less for bass than high FR. I am very srprise of the sound listening movies on my 5.1 system. It seems natural all the way. For stereo music listening session, it is a little less good but my audioprothesist is working hard to find a programm with le less artifacts in the sound. Puresound programming is good for this not the top but better than I expected.
Thanks. What were you wearing before the Widex Moment, and how would you characterize the improvement?

I don't mind spending more money for a 'higher' model, if it would actually provide some real-world benefit in my situation. But I also know how marketing hype works, and often those benefits are vanishingly small as the price increases significantly (like everything else with this crazy hobby!).
 
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My daughter is working on her doctorate in audiology so when I get to that stage, she can hopefully hook me up. :)
Sounds like a great situation!

In the meanwhile, have her join the forum, and perhaps she might have some insights to share with us! ;)
 
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