Hearing loss

[Slowhands]

I'm coming to terms with the fact that the near deafness that everyone on my mother's side had is coming to me. In my 50s and I've been struggling a bit to really understand conversations well (had been for years in noisy spots but now it's in quiet ones too). Got my ears checked and yeah, my hearing is okay at low frequencies but increasingly terrible at high ones. Age related, it's been getting worse for years and will continue to. Doc said i'd hear lower tones well, like men's voices. But higher ones, like my wife's I might not be able to hear. I said 'Okay, to that's the upside, is there any downside?' Kidding!

I have a pair of headphones with equalizer in them so I created a profile to mimic my loss so my wife could hear. Played a vocal podcast and a couple of songs for her. She said she could understand stuff but it sounded like everything was under water and muffled. That's how I hear all the time, I guess.

So I'm getting hearing aids. I'm wondering what I should expect from a musical perspective. I suppose everything will sound different, maybe bad because the aids are optimized for voices not wideband music and they have compression to boot. I suppose I'm used to everything having lots of bottom and it won't anymore. I don't know what that will do to my playing. For example, I have typically been playing in the neck pickup a lot because it sounds so good to me. I guess that's because it's what I hear the best. With correction that could flip. So what does that do to what I like to play? Will I discover that my gear is all trash? Anyone have experience here? Kinda curious how it changed music for people.

 

[Tucson Thump]

I'm coming to terms with the fact that the near deafness that everyone on my mother's side had is coming to me. In my 50s and I've been struggling a bit to really understand conversations well (had been for years in noisy spots but now it's in quiet ones too). Got my ears checked and yeah, my hearing is okay at low frequencies but increasingly terrible at high ones. Age related, it's been getting worse for years and will continue to. Doc said i'd hear lower tones well, like men's voices. But higher ones, like my wife's I might not be able to hear. I said 'Okay, to that's the upside, is there any downside?' Kidding!

I have a pair of headphones with equalizer in them so I created a profile to mimic my loss so my wife could hear. Played a vocal podcast and a couple of songs for her. She said she could understand stuff but it sounded like everything was under water and muffled. That's how I hear all the time, I guess.

So I'm getting hearing aids. I'm wondering what I should expect from a musical perspective. I suppose everything will sound different, maybe bad because the aids are optimized for voices not wideband music and they have compression to boot. I suppose I'm used to everything having lots of bottom and it won't anymore. I don't know what that will do to my playing. For example, I have typically been playing in the neck pickup a lot because it sounds so good to me. I guess that's because it's what I hear the best. With correction that could flip. So what does that do to what I like to play? Will I discover that my gear is all trash? Anyone have experience here? Kinda curious how it changed music for people.

I'm sorry to hear of your problem. My wife has a hereditary hearing loss, a calcification of the stapes bones in both ears. She has been wearing hearing aids for the last thirteen years after surgery didn't help. There may be times when you and your wife are frustrated as this isn't a problem that is visible so at first it is a problem remembering that if she is facing away from you but talking you may not be hearing her. My hope is that your hearing aids will help alleviate the issue, and that future medical advances my help everyone who has hearing issues.

Good luck.

 

[BrianC]

I have some fear of that as well. Good luck!

 

[Tom Bradovich]

Sorry to hear about your hearing. However, it may not be as dire a situation as it seems right now. Seven years of AF jet mechanic work took its toll on my ears. I have tinnitus along with high freq hearing loss. No hearing aids yet. But, music still sounds great, whether coming out of my amp or my Mackie speakers. I will say that after about 3 hours of playing, a bunch of frequencies start to be muddled. That's my warning signal that I'm one step over my limits and it's time to quit.

 

[László]

My wife's family has hearing loss issues as well, and she's needed much higher volume watching TV or movies than most. Honestly, I can't be in the same room, she plays it so loud! And I repeat what I say a lot. Oh goodness, an awful lot.

Kudos to you for having the guts and self-confidence to consider hearing aids!

My wife is in denial. Her sister has aids. Her brother has the same issues but refused them as he said they bothered him.

As for listening to music, I don't know if this is the case or not, but there are full-frequency in-ear monitors, that with EQ might be a viable option. It's certainly something I'd talk to an audiologist about.

 

[KYGuitarMan]

I've been wearing HA's for 10 years and haven't had any problems with music. Some hearing aids have music a "program". i've tried a couple and they handle music well. Check some of the major brands on the internet. I know at least two have musician testimonials.

 

[alantig]

[QUOTE="LSchefman, post: 674796, member: 812]And I repeat what I say a lot. Oh goodness, an awful lot.[/QUOTE]

That’s just marriage.


Seriously, hearing loss is a big fear of mine. I haven’t had a test in years, but when I did, I had some mild high frequency loss, and a notch in my left ear from being stupid as a kid. I wear earplugs at concerts now, and they help a ton. Some shows they even make the mix seem a little clearer. I have a couple db meters on my phone that I use just to get a general idea how loud things are. I’ll take the plugs out if a show is quiet enough (strangely enough, the last full show I had them out for was The Who…seriously, The Who). Otherwise, one, maybe two songs a show.

 

[KYGuitarMan]

We should protect our hearing. I didn't do a whole lot of concerts, but concerts and loud music from other sources, years of mowing the lawn, plus growing older takes a toll. You can get some ear plugs (not the orange spongy ones) at a music store. Wear when you are exposed to loud noise. Hearing will continue to deteriorate if you don't do anything.

 

[Deleted member 5962]

That’s just marriage.

Amen!

 

[László]

That’s just marriage.

I wish that was the case. It isn't.

 

[11top]

I just returned from my recent visit to my audiologist. The findings weren’t good. I have had a troubling loss of highs for quite some time, but the latest report shows it has worsened. I am now at the point where using my hearing aids is no longer really an option. And I hate the damn things.

I’m confident that the biggest reason for my issue is due to heredity; both parents and grandparents had hearing problems. However, I have been listening to and playing loud music for 400 years. I do wear molded hearing plugs with filters in the band. We play way too loud. My friends will accuse me of being the culprit, but in reality, I have tried to get my band mates to turn down (@#*^%@! drummers!). After my test results this week, I have been struggling with a decision to quit the band. I’ll miss it, but I’ll miss hearing way more (understatement of the day).



This test if free at Costco if you are a member. Also, Costco is THE place to purchase hearing aids.

 

[Slowhands]

My wife's family has hearing loss issues as well, and she's needed much higher volume watching TV or movies than most. Honestly, I can't be in the same room, she plays it so loud! And I repeat what I say a lot. Oh goodness, an awful lot.

Kudos to you for having the guts and self-confidence to consider hearing aids!

My wife is in denial. Her sister has aids. Her brother has the same issues but refused them as he said they bothered him.

As for listening to music, I don't know if this is the case or not, but there are full-frequency in-ear monitors, that with EQ might be a viable option. It's certainly something I'd talk to an audiologist about.

The thing about age related loss is that it gets worse over time, guaranteed. The issue with my moms family is that it starts young , like in the 20s instead of the 40s/50s. So by they time our folk are in their 60s it's bad. But it's insidious, it sneaks up on you. There's never a point where you think "this sounds different now". Just you think people are mumbling a little, or talking too low. Or the speakers in that new TV suck because the music is louder than the voices. Then you realize ... it's you.
S o I realize that when I think something sounds great, it does ... to me. You might think it sounds like ice picks inside a glass breaking factory during a fire drill. Such is life, but weird to know that how others perceive music is no longer (and has not been for a long time) how I do.

But I can still function, though I say 'huh? what?' a lot. The thing that pushed me to jump in for the hearing aids is the studies that show a correlation with hearing loss and cognitive decline in later life. I don't want that. So I'll deal with the hearing aids. When I got tested they put in a pair and gave them some rough settings and had me walk around. Lots of noise, noise, noise. Carts rolling, conversations from way over there, running water from a fountain display ... stuff I hadnt heard when I walked in, or hadn't paid any attention because it was too quiet to care about. Not anymore. But the real 'ah-hah' moment was when the guy took them out. He'd put them in when I was inside a sound isolating booth so I didn't notice an immediate 'A versus B' comparison. The hearing aids came out when I was in the store (Costco ... believe it or not they are I think they largest seller of hearing aids in the USA now). and it was like 70% of the sounds around me just ... disappeared. Whoa. That was eye opening.

 

[Slowhands]

I just returned from my recent visit to my audiologist. The findings weren’t good. I have had a troubling loss of highs for quite some time, but the latest report shows it has worsened. I am now at the point where using my hearing aids is no longer really an option. And I hate the damn things.

I’m confident that the biggest reason for my issue is due to heredity; both parents and grandparents had hearing problems. However, I have been listening to and playing loud music for 400 years. I do wear molded hearing plugs with filters in the band. We play way too loud. My friends will accuse me of being the culprit, but in reality, I have tried to get my band mates to turn down (@#*^%@! drummers!). After my test results this week, I have been struggling with a decision to quit the band. I’ll miss it, but I’ll miss hearing way more.



This test if free at Costco if you are a member. Also, Costco is THE place to purchase hearing aids.

I am indeed getting mine from Costco. Got my test a day before yours! Already paid for, pick up in two weeks. I went to an ENT for a test and then I went to Costco. So I have two audiograms independently done. Identical.

My loss is the same as yours up to 2 khz. but yours drops off faster after that. I'll catch up, don't worry. In the meantime I pick up my hearing aids in two weeks. Just got the costco branded "Kirkland Select" ones because after doing some research I found they are actually top of the line Phonak Paradise 90 hearing aids repackaged and renamed under contract to Costco and sold for like $3K less. I'll take that deal. Maybe I'll buy a guitar with the savings! My wife might complain but I can't hear her anymore so it's all good!

 

[alantig]

Sorry to hear about so many of us dealing w/some sort of hearing loss. Looking at 11Top's test, it strikes me that "profound" never sounds good on a medical test.

KT Tunstall had to cancel her tour this summer because of her hearing. She lost all hearing in her left ear a couple years ago (which I don't remember seeing), and started to have similar issues in her right.

https://hearinghealthfoundation.org...mmer-concerts-to-care-for-her-damaged-hearing

 

[11top]

I am indeed getting mine from Costco. Got my test a day before yours! Already paid for, pick up in two weeks. I went to an ENT for a test and then I went to Costco. So I have two audiograms independently done. Identical.

My loss is the same as yours up to 2 khz. but yours drops off faster after that. I'll catch up, don't worry. In the meantime I pick up my hearing aids in two weeks. Just got the costco branded "Kirkland Select" ones because after doing some research I found they are actually top of the line Phonak Paradise 90 hearing aids repackaged and renamed under contract to Costco and sold for like $3K less. I'll take that deal. Maybe I'll buy a guitar with the savings! My wife might complain but I can't hear her anymore so it's all good!

See that little bird picture on my test? I was assured that those creatures really do make sounds.

 

[Slowhands]

See that little bird picture on my test? I was assured that those creatures really do make sounds.

Lies! I've been outside and they don't! Some do, but they only speak to me and I know this because they only make noise when they are right next to me.

 

[alantig]

See that little bird picture on my test? I was assured that those creatures really do make sounds.

Lies! I've been outside and they don't! Some do, but they only speak to me and I know this because they only make noise when they are right next to me.

It's not just you. They speak to me and tell me to do things.

And I obey my avian overlords...

 

[Coral Sky Music]

Sorry for the problems some of you are going through, I can fully understand. My mother was born with severe hearing loss and has been wearing hearing aids since a child. Over the past 40 plus years it has gotten to the point where she is almost completely deaf and the hearing aids do very little to help. For the first 7 years of my life I repeatedly battled severe ear infections to the point where the doctors had to place tubes in my ears constantly. They thought that with my mothers hearing it was hereditary and I would have the same problems in my life. Turns out it is the opposite I have the hearing of a Bat but unfortunately as I have gotten older I am starting to go Blind as a Bat . Kinda like Master Po from Kung Fu I might not see you but I'll hear you coming from a mile away. LOL

 

[11top]

but unfortunately as I have gotten older I am starting to go Blind as a Bat .

Cataracts are the best thing that ever happened to my eyes. I had them removed and new lenses inserted. I see 20/20 (unaided) for the first in my life. OK.......distance. Seeing to read is a different story.

 

[11top]

My loss is the same as yours up to 2 khz. but yours drops off faster after that. I'll catch up, don't worry.

Yep. That was my chart 6-7 years ago.