[chicost]

I am a 68 year old male and I recently saw a doctor about tinnitus. He sent
me to an hearing specialist who performed some tests and I was startled to
find I need hearing aids for both ears. My hearing was normal to about 1 KHZ
and then dropped sharply for the higher frequencies. I knew I played the stereo and TV a bit louder then my wife but I never imagined such extreme measures would be necessary.

When I listen to my MMG's or to live music, the full frequency spectrum seems
evident. With the hearing aids, I imagine the treble will be boosted quite a bit
and I just wonder how I'll react. Will sound via the aids be terribly bright?

Tomorrow, the hearing aid fitting starts.

[K Shep]

I am a 68 year old male and I recently saw a doctor about tinnitus. He sent
me to an hearing specialist who performed some tests and I was startled to
find I need hearing aids for both ears. My hearing was normal to about 1 KHZ
and then dropped sharply for the higher frequencies. I knew I played the stereo and TV a bit louder then my wife but I never imagined such extreme measures would be necessary.

When I listen to my MMG's or to live music, the full frequency spectrum seems
evident. With the hearing aids, I imagine the treble will be boosted quite a bit
and I just wonder how I'll react. Will sound via the aids be terribly bright?

Tomorrow, the hearing aid fitting starts.

Welcome to AC.  I used to listen to music with my Grandfather who wore hearing aids.  I was 16 y/o at the time and not the audio enthusiast I am now so it never occured to me to asked his opinion.  Please keep us posted.

[JackD201]

If fitted properly, just expect to play your music softer than before. You won't be chasing intelligibility from the loss of consonant sounds like in the past. I expect you will get used to it then enjoy it in time. That was the experience of my father in law. Enjoy!

[chicost]

Met with the audiologist today and discussed various hearing aid designs and she
took some physical measurements of my ears. I stressed to her that music was
very important to me and she is looking at using an aid made by Oticon which
has a reputation for music fidelity. They're not cheap and the cost will be about
$3k for each ear. That's far more then I've ever spent for any stereo system.

[decal]

Did you seek a second opinion on your condition?Not saying your health care provider was wrong,but it never hurts to get a second opinion.Also,hearing aids run the gamut in price,if you buy from the audiologist you will pay lots more,shop around.Just a thought.Good luck.

[gerald porzio]

In as much as you paid for the test, you probably won't have to be retested. The tests results are yours so a 2nd opinion is well worth it.

[Wind Chaser]

Here's an untapped market - highend hearing aids by McIntosh, Mark Levinson etc.

[JLM]

This amounts to another link in the audio chain.  Makes me ponder how much invest into the "external" system compared to the hearing aids.  Or perhaps add EQ to the system and leave the hearing aids out while listening.

Are there headphone/EQ setups for those with significant hearing loss?

[chicost]

Received the hearing aids today. They are made by Anthem and it's their
platinum model. It fits behind the ear and has a tube with a tiny speaker
at it's end that fits into the ear. It has 16 channels of equalization and
will require multiple visits to fine tune the aid. The audiologist said the high
frequency cut off for the speaker is just 7.5 khz. The hearing aid is an
'open air' type so sounds will be a combination of normal and amplified sounds.

Since I've had this thing just a few hours I won't make to many comments other then the sound ain't too bad and I definitely can hear the brushes on the cymbals more clearly.

[K Shep]

Love your sense of humor.  Thanks for checking in.