Anyone here wear hearing aids when listening to music through OTE headphones?

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Huck

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Just curious if anyone here who wears hearing aids (HA's) and listens to their OTE headphones with them 'in' or with them 'out'.
I would think that the ITE(in the ear ) type would be better(better seal and comfort) as opposed to the BTE (behind the ear)type?
If you do listen with HA's,do you get anything negative as far as feedback,something like a microphone type feedback.
I wonder, cause I listen to HP's and I am gonna need HA's quite soon and wondering if I will be able to 'cope'. :popcorn:Thanks,Huck

Mariusz Uszynski

Huck, I own older pair of headphones AKG K240, and I just tried  them with my Phonak (BTE).I was afraid, I'll hear some kind of noise or distortion, but the music sounded all right.Keep one thing in mind, your ear pads cushions must be big enough, to cover your ear and the HA receivers, that are located behind you ears.

Huck

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Huck, I own older pair of headphones AKG K240, and I just tried  them with my Phonak (BTE).I was afraid, I'll hear some kind of noise or distortion, but the music sounded all right.Keep one thing in mind, your ear pads cushions must be big enough, to cover your ear and the HA receivers, that are located behind you ears.

Yeah,that's what I was thinking about and not sure my HP ear cups are big (open)enough,my ear cups are more oval than round..if not,I buy new ones!!.. NAH,but maybe!.I guess I will find out
When you say they sound "all right" does that mean they sound just OK,or like kinda shitey with 'em in,what about with 'em out?
Just checked and my ear cups openings  are 2-1/2"h x 1-1/2"w,maybe not a big enough opening..maybe.Huck

Mariusz Uszynski

Yeah,that's what I was thinking about and not sure my HP ear cups are big (open)enough,my ear cups are more oval than round..if not,I buy new ones!!.. NAH,but maybe!.I guess I will find out
When you say they sound "all right" does that mean they sound just OK,or like kinda shitey with 'em in,what about with 'em out?
Just checked and my ear cups openings  are 2-1/2"h x 1-1/2"w,maybe not a big enough opening..maybe.Huck

No, by saying "All Right", I meant better with HA for sure!!!My main concern was, that you could hear kind of distortion.Definitely improvement with HA.Plus HA receivers are small, they can't be seen behind ears.Oh shit, unless I have "Dumbo Ears"?????

Huck

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Yeah,that's what I was thinking about and not sure my HP ear cups are big (open)enough,my ear cups are more oval than round..if not,I buy new ones!!.. NAH,but maybe!.I guess I will find out
When you say they sound "all right" does that mean they sound just OK,or like kinda shitey with 'em in,what about with 'em out?
Just checked and my ear cups openings  are 2-1/2"h x 1-1/2"w,maybe not a big enough opening..maybe.Huck

No, by saying "All Right", I meant better with HA for sure!!!My main concern was, that you could hear kind of distortion.Definitely improvement with HA.Plus HA receivers are small, they can't be seen behind ears.Oh shit, unless I have "Dumbo Ears"?????
I kinda have dumbo ears,so I hope they stay in on their own accord as I don't think my ears would even touch them to hold 'em in place...crazy glue?!Huck

Huck

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Yeah,that's what I was thinking about and not sure my HP ear cups are big (open)enough,my ear cups are more oval than round..if not,I buy new ones!!.. NAH,but maybe!.I guess I will find out
When you say they sound "all right" does that mean they sound just OK,or like kinda shitey with 'em in,what about with 'em out?
Just checked and my ear cups openings  are 2-1/2"h x 1-1/2"w,maybe not a big enough opening..maybe.Huck

No, by saying "All Right", I meant better with HA for sure!!!My main concern was, that you could hear kind of distortion.Definitely improvement with HA.Plus HA receivers are small, they can't be seen behind ears.Oh shit, unless I have "Dumbo Ears"?????

Would you have to have another setting when you listen to phones,or would the 'music' program cover them also..another thing I gotta check on.Huck

Mariusz Uszynski

Would you have to have another setting when you listen to phones,or would the 'music' program cover them also..another thing I gotta check on.Huck

I tried with Music Mode, my favorite.

Huck

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Letitroll98

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Not having the need for hearing aids yet, I don't understand why you can't simply turn up the volume and not bother with hearing aids.  I'm guessing it's a frequency response issue?

Huck

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Not having the need for hearing aids yet, I don't understand why you can't simply turn up the volume and not bother with hearing aids.  I'm guessing it's a frequency response issue?

I tried last night and my headphone amp volume was maxxed out and I could have used another half turn of V. :scratch:Huck

mresseguie

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Not having the need for hearing aids yet, I don't understand why you can't simply turn up the volume and not bother with hearing aids.  I'm guessing it's a frequency response issue?

I'll take a stab at explaining why you can't simply turn up the volume and not bother with hearing aids. Imagine owning a pair of Harbeth SHL5plus speakers. Each speaker has a midwoofer, tweeter, and a super tweeter. Let's say that one day you're happily listening to <favorite rock group> when suddenly the super tweeter on the right speaker fries and dies. Concurrently, the tweeter on the left speaker fries and dies. Both speakers are still making music, and that music may still sound better on the damaged speakers than it would on a pair of crappy Kmart speakers, but you know it sounds wrong.

Do you turn up the volume to compensate (drown out??) for what is lacking musically? You could do this, but it won't be as pleasing as it was before the drivers fried.

Now, consider my hearing issues. I've got moderate to severe hearing loss above 8kHz. The loss is uneven - the left side loss is a bit greater than the right side loss. The hearing aids I've tried tend to make music sound like shit - I have not tried the very expensive hearing aids yet. I find listening to music w/out hearing aids to still be very enjoyable. I really need my hearing aids for conversations, watching TV/movies,  and such. I have another <unfortunate> hearing issue called hyper-acusis. It's a hyper-sensitivity to loud sounds. It's worse in my right ear than my left ear. Screaming children, babies crying, sirens blaring, wife excitedly talking to me in the passenger seat as I drive, really loud music, someone clapping his/her hands beside me.....all of these can cause me great discomfort.

Because of this hyper-acusis, I listen to most music below ~70 or 75dB. There are times in which I briefly turn it up louder, but I don't want to push my luck.

Fortunately for most people in the world, comparativelty few people suffer hyper-acusis. It's treatable with acupuncture and/or by retraining the brain by listening to pink noise.  I don't know if the condition is curable, but both acupuncture and pink noise sessions have been lifesavers for me.

Does this help answer your question?

Michael

Letitroll98

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Thanks Michael, that's what I meant with frequency response.  I have hearing loss, mostly in my right ear, from a Journey concert in the 70s.  Not the sound system, the 15,000 screaming teenage girls.  So I understand the differences from left to right and the high frequency loss. 

Huck, thanks for the reply and that gives me a good idea of degree of loss you're suffering from. 

My ex is deaf in one ear and hard of hearing in the other from birth and is the finest judge of audio quality I've ever known.  She can listen for a few seconds and instantly tell you what you've been trying to pin down all afternoon.  It's because she's spent a lifetime training herself to hear tiny cues in sound patterns just so she can follow a conversation in a restaurant.  So don't despair if your hearing is fading, you could turn it into a benefit.


Speedskater

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Hyperacusis is more of a symptom than a disorder, there is more than one cause.
Recently the church Music Director resigned because even with musician grade hearing protection, the  traditional church music bothered her too much.

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