Hearing loss

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
Sorry about your eyesight. It's funny, I've been thinking a bit about how my puppy perceives the world through their noses and wondering how different the world must seem to them. In any given moment they experience the way the spot where they are standing IS and how it WAS in the recent past and know that there are things inside other things that we have no idea are there. What must that be like?

And I know that like that, there are people with amazing hearing that can listed to a symphony and hear all these nuances that don't exist for me. Similarly a guy I worked with once told me he refused to use a wireless mouse because it was too slow. He could only use wired ones because he had sort of superhuman eyesight and the slight delay was unbearable for him. I laughed but turns out he had been a professional video game player, one of the top in the world and his hand/eye was off the charts compared to normal folk. In some ways we're all a little bit hobbled with our own senses. But we do the best we can with what we have and use tech and science to try to fill in the gaps whenever we can.
 
Sorry about your eyesight. It's funny, I've been thinking a bit about how my puppy perceives the world through their noses and wondering how different the world must seem to them. In any given moment they experience the way the spot where they are standing IS and how it WAS in the recent past and know that there are things inside other things that we have no idea are there. What must that be like?

And I know that like that, there are people with amazing hearing that can listed to a symphony and hear all these nuances that don't exist for me. Similarly a guy I worked with once told me he refused to use a wireless mouse because it was too slow. He could only use wired ones because he had sort of superhuman eyesight and the slight delay was unbearable for him. I laughed but turns out he had been a professional video game player, one of the top in the world and his hand/eye was off the charts compared to normal folk. In some ways we're all a little bit hobbled with our own senses. But we do the best we can with what we have and use tech and science to try to fill in the gaps whenever we can.

I'm thinking that cognitive decline thing has not caught up with you!
 
Slowhands, sounds like you're getting HAs shortly. Indeed, Costco is a huge seller of HAs in this country and my brother got his there. I got mine via an audiologist.

You'd asked what it's like playing guitar with HAs in. My experience is: I generally take mine out when I play electric since I don't need the volume or treble boost - and I'm careful about volume. But it's your call. Electric guitar can have some "artifacts" with HAs such as a vague chorusing sound. Playing acoustic? You bet they're in! It's glorious to hear in full again. When I go to rock concerts I don't wear the HAs ... I wear hearing protection!

For everyone else on the forum reading this: If you think you need them, you do.

Relax - it's no big deal. Our male vanity is the main obstacle, followed by cost (although we seem to buy very nice guitars without a second thought). I resisted and stalled for years, till my wife, bless her, made me go get fitted. Now I can't be without my "hearbuds" for the office, dinners, movies, shopping, appointments, etc. as well as acoustic guitar.

I don't know if this forum allows for cross-posting from other forums, but I'll ask forgiveness because it's about our hearing. This topic comes up a lot at The Gear Page.net (yes, TGP, home of the PRS bashers) because so many older members there have hearing loss too. Some discussion links worth reading:

https://www.thegearpage.net/board/i...ids-for-guitar-players.2252188/#post-32487602

If not - just head over to TGP and search on "hearing aids" - you'll find the discussion threads.

Again, OP, congrats on the hearbuds - you'll soon discover all that you've been missing in daily conversation. Including now-flawless comprehension of the wife's honey-dos and her helpful suggestions for daily living. ;)

=K
 
Obviously folk on a guitar forum are going to cringe at the thought of hearing loss but for perspective I recently heard an anecdote about Helen Keller who we probably all know was deaf and blind (and did amazing things but somehow still became the punchline to a million middle school jokes). She was asked if it was worse having no sight or having no hearing. She said that losing hearing was worse because being blind disconnects you from objects around you but losing your hearing disconnects you from other people.

It will be nice if they help me hear music fully again. But if they help me not have to strain to hear people and still mishear a bunch of what they say (weird how the brain just guesses when it isn't sure and how inaccurate it sees to be at that!) then I'll consider that a win. Like Kiwi said, I may just leave them out for playing on amp. I'm just playing in my home so if the tones I dial up sound weird to other people, well, there are no other people so the only critic that matters is me I guess.
 
This is where modelling helps preserve, getting tone without the dB

Noise at work, misspent youth, headphones & genetics mean bye bye high F freq and hello tinnitus for me too.

My maternal side got there without rock n roll so destiny anyway
 
Yep. That was my chart 6-7 years ago.
When we get together, It’s like one of those comedy movies with the two old men (pick one) if Steve doesn’t have his “ears” in…”what?” “Huh?” Blank stares after a question, like, you couldn’t possibly have said what I heard. He has correction, I don’t and my wife has been after me for years. At work, they know I have ‘rock-n-roll ears’ and have grown used to repeating things. I’m way past due and will be making an appointment at Costco.
 
I hope the young guys that are here are reading this and getting the message.
PROTECT YOUR HEARING AT ALL COSTS!
The wisest musical decision that I made was to start wearing earplugs in my early 20’s.
After 30 years of playing with my hard hitting drummer, I have no hearing loss.

I always had ear plugs when I was on stage. I wore earplugs when I detailed cars too and in both cases people thought I was nuts being in my early 20s wearing earplugs all the time.

I strongly agree with you and recommend the same.
 
When we get together, It’s like one of those comedy movies with the two old men (pick one) if Steve doesn’t have his “ears” in…”what?” “Huh?” Blank stares after a question, like, you couldn’t possibly have said what I heard. He has correction, I don’t and my wife has been after me for years. At work, they know I have ‘rock-n-roll ears’ and have grown used to repeating things. I’m way past due and will be making an appointment at Costco.

$1,599 a pair for state of the art behind the ear. They are Bluetoothed to your phone. Less than half of what you’ll pay at “franchised hearing aid shops”.
 
I'm so sorry to learn of your hearing issues. Color me fortunate as my hearing is still pretty OK.
When I was playing in bands I headed the advice about playing to loud. I guess it paid off?
I hope you find a decent resolution to your issue.
 
I'm so sorry to learn of your hearing issues. Color me fortunate as my hearing is still pretty OK.
When I was playing in bands I headed the advice about playing to loud. I guess it paid off?
I hope you find a decent resolution to your issue.
Thanks for your well wishes. Hearing loss isn't always the result of environment (i.e. lots of loud noise). It can be, but for a lot of people it's just age related. Your nerves degenerate and it's irreversible. So you lose mostly high frequencies. That's what I have, it runs in my family. My mom is 80 and she lost her hearing aids a few months ago and speaking to her was virtually impossible. It was so bad. We got her new ones (her old ones were 10 years old ... old tech) and with the new tech it's night and day. Even with her old hearing aids I had to always raise my voice to speak to her. Now I do not. Her hearing is waaaay worse than mine but I'm getting the same hearing aids as her. So I feel pretty good that for regular life ... talking to people, hearing in crowds, stuff like that ... I'll be good.

My curiosity was how music would sound for me, since the hearing aids 'fix' your problem through a combo of amplification of the frequencies you are weak in and compression to push those sounds to lower frequencies you DO hear well. So in the end, stuff doesn't quite sound like it would for a person with great hearing. I guess I'll find out in about a week!
 
My father, who is nearly 80 has chronic hearing loss and tinnitus.

His friend has recently set him up with mics to allow him to play live again, so he can hear himself playing with others. The set up consists of a mics for the ambient sound and then mics for him and a careful bit of mixing to get the right levels.

Ironically, his friend is also a musician who was born with very little hearing. He is a recording musician, so he has a lot of experience with this.

I remember once trying the listening device my Dad uses for watching TV and was astounded by how much he needs the volume amplified!:(
 
The youngers at work smile when I use the term "Say whaat?"

I haven't explained I can't understand what they said and they should repeat it! I'd rather seem cool (no one has told me I'm cool)
 
The youngers at work smile when I use the term "Say whaat?"

I haven't explained I can't understand what they said and they should repeat it! I'd rather seem cool (no one has told me I'm cool)
Hah! At least you don't have to try to look cool rocking one of these:

d238ca3df765fd751a8d79bd4454f3de--vintage-medical-hearing-aids.jpg


According to my mother, my great grandfather pulled it off somehow. I guess because he ran the store in town that sold ice cream so all the kids thought he was the bee knees.
 
Obviously folk on a guitar forum are going to cringe at the thought of hearing loss but for perspective I recently heard an anecdote about Helen Keller who we probably all know was deaf and blind (and did amazing things but somehow still became the punchline to a million middle school jokes). She was asked if it was worse having no sight or having no hearing. She said that losing hearing was worse because being blind disconnects you from objects around you but losing your hearing disconnects you from other people.

It will be nice if they help me hear music fully again. But if they help me not have to strain to hear people and still mishear a bunch of what they say (weird how the brain just guesses when it isn't sure and how inaccurate it sees to be at that!) then I'll consider that a win. Like Kiwi said, I may just leave them out for playing on amp. I'm just playing in my home so if the tones I dial up sound weird to other people, well, there are no other people so the only critic that matters is me I guess.

Look up the info about Evelyn Glennie, a Scottish woman who became deaf at 8 but went on to become an amazing percussionist. I recall seeing a movie back when Netflix was still sending out DVDs called Touch The Sound.

https://www.evelyn.co.uk/
 
I've had tinnitus since I was real young.:( I never thought much about it at the time, I just thought it was from having colds and strep infections all the time. My ears were constantly plugged. Hearing test showed a hearing impairment, but not enough to warrant hearing aides. When I was Active Duty in the Navy, one hearing exam said I had a "Significant Threshold Shift" and they tried writing me up for not wearing my hearing protection.:confused: My Supervisor went to bat for me on that and got them to back down.:cool: When I went into the Reserves after being 4 years out, they said my hearing was perfect,o_O for what I don't know. I wear plugs at concerts anymore, it just overloads my eardrums if I don't. I usually use the foam ones they sell in the safety aisle of HD or Lowes. If I find them, i use the PRS Attenuators I got for next to nothing. They work ok, but plugs are better in some situations.

My wife thinks I should have my hearing checked. I think I need to not tune her out as much.;) I get focused on something and tune most everything out, including her. It also doesn't help that when she is talking to me at a normal volume, I am on the other side of the house watching tv with 3 walls between us.:D
 
I've had tinnitus since I was real young.:( I never thought much about it at the time, I just thought it was from having colds and strep infections all the time. My ears were constantly plugged. Hearing test showed a hearing impairment, but not enough to warrant hearing aides. When I was Active Duty in the Navy, one hearing exam said I had a "Significant Threshold Shift" and they tried writing me up for not wearing my hearing protection.:confused: My Supervisor went to bat for me on that and got them to back down.:cool: When I went into the Reserves after being 4 years out, they said my hearing was perfect,o_O for what I don't know. I wear plugs at concerts anymore, it just overloads my eardrums if I don't. I usually use the foam ones they sell in the safety aisle of HD or Lowes. If I find them, i use the PRS Attenuators I got for next to nothing. They work ok, but plugs are better in some situations.

My wife thinks I should have my hearing checked. I think I need to not tune her out as much.;) I get focused on something and tune most everything out, including her. It also doesn't help that when she is talking to me at a normal volume, I am on the other side of the house watching tv with 3 walls between us.:D

I'm not an expert, but I think if you have tinnitus, you probably have hearing loss.
 
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