Odd topic, maybe.
I’m not a user. Yet. I have a slight hearing deterioration in my right ear (years of clubbing!), but the last test about 3 years ago gave me “normal hearing for my age”. However, hearing aids might be on the cards for me in years to come.
My question is: how do they change the listening when used with a hifi system? Do they make it better or worse? Or no difference? Any experiences ?
Hi.
There are several threads on hearing aids where users have posted their experiences.
Have you done a search?
Quite a few of us on the forum use aids, and there are several threads on the subject, with various discussions and much information. The search facility is your friend, as they say!
Apologies, guys. No I hadn’t done a search for it. I wasn’t expecting it, to be honest.
I will do now. Thank you for the heads up. 
I’ve recently been on this journey, see link below. The short answer is for me, a very significant improvement in listening to music and something I should have done earlier….
The brand/model of heating aid you choose can make a big difference to the sound quality. I tried four different aids and picked the one that handled acoustic piano the best. You have to try the various brands to see what works for you. Like buying speakers I guess.
Also many aids have different processing options for music This is important because the first priority for the hearing tech is to give you better voice comprehension particularly at higher frequencies
Recently @Mike_S had purchased hearing aids.
I too, since 6 months. I have a little loss in one ear, which creates tinnitus . My tinnitus happens much less frequently now. The music listening is better, more holographic and sharper. The most impressive is the naturalness. Like having nothing in my ears.
I purchased ones of the best, not cheap. Signia Pure 7ix.
Update: Apple has actually activated the Hearing Aid feature in the UK now and I’m now testing it as we speak. It’s been a few months of waits, but I’m glad this is now possible as a low bar entry.
Interesting to read this. I own a pair of AirPod Pro 2 and AirPod Pro Max. The former have not been enabled by the UK health authorities for the hearing aid feature, but may receive approval in the future. It was a little disappointing, as I was hoping for a low-bar entry into hearing improvement, with a view to go for something more serious down the line.
Thank you all for sharing your experiences. It’s giving me hope that my hobby won’t have to end in the foreseeable, which was a worry. But then, there’s nothing more wise than enjoying the moment!
I now having hearing aides, so mostly use the Pro Max over my hearing aids with my Apple TV, or use the HD800 headphones over the hearing aids for music and blurays. Though mostly I listen to the system through the speakers and activate the music programme on my hearing aides, which works really well.
For the AirPod pro’s, you can set them to adjust the sound to match your hearing profile. This works extremely well, particularly for mobile use, but I find the Pro Max better for spatial audio with the Apple TV.
In the end, I have to say positive. My hearing loss is above 4k, so losing the sibilance area which gives definition to speech, then also clarity to overtones of musical instruments. It took a while to see a sympathetic audiologist and the resetting made a great difference.
My understanding is that most aids stop working above 10k, so youthful hearing will not be fully available.
The blurb with mine makes a big thing about clarity in noisy situations, for me they simply do not work, shops with air con, freezers and noisy restaurants usually end up making me take them off.
I have recently had hearing aids for the first time (resound/Bemore GN61’s on the NHS). My hearing was moderately down on both sides from 1k upwards, years of working in noisy factories.
They have generally improved my listening enjoyment by re-instating much of the upper frequencies but can sound a little artificial at times even on the music setting. Unsure whether other aids would be better in this respect. I might get hold of the software and have a go at programming them myself to see if i can get it to sound any better.
You will also need to buy the programming interface which is called NoahLink Wireless and made by HIMSA. The programming software is GN Resound SmartFit. It’s not readily available because it’s controlled as a medical device. But if you go to the HearingTracker Forum, you will find people who will help you there.
It had been one of the US hearing aid user sites that got me thinking about this and I had picked up about buying the Noahlink which is readily available through a certain well known on line shopping site. I can see from screen shots of the software there is more control available than the user app on frequency bands alone so it looks promising
There’s a whole lot more to it than just the additional frequency bands of course because this software is used to set the aids to the customer’s prescription. And many customers are more interested in things other than music, for example being able to hear what co-workers are saying, a particular problem in noisy environments.
But what you need to do to get the best musical experience is quite well known and a big part of it is turning off processing that don’t really want to be on when you listen to music.
One of the things that frustrates me with the hearing aids I have is the music setting undoubtedly sounds better than std listening, but the microphones are ultra sensitive and crackle. You need to use some noise correction in the user app to make it bearable which kind of defeats the object. The frequency response itself should reflect my prescription but after living with them for a month or 2 now it seems very uneven. Violins were excessively harsh and bright but percussion and female vocals were okay, for example. The audiologist at my request lowered the output in the 1-2khz area at my request and it is better but there was no ‘common reference point’ between us - Hence why I am going to try DIY. I’ve just signed up to the hearing tracker forum to try and get a link to the software and have ordered the Noahlink ( I had noticed your name as a poster on the site)
I see you there! Tenkan will send you a private message with the link.
I’ve been wearing hearing aids since 2012.
The only difference I find is that if I don’t wear them, I lose some of the top notes, but not enough to make unenjoyable.
DG…