Loss of hearing but not bad enough to be proper hearing loss?

Thanks Vertenna, by looking at them, they all seem physically similar so I guess that the only way to go is to try them out.

Thatā€™s right, David, I have developed tinnitus too and thatā€™s why I am deciding that the time is ripe for hearing aids. I try very hard to ignore it, but itā€™s bā€¦ hard.

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As i said I am okay with jazz and rock music. With classical Iam
Okay with chamber music or piano. But the symphonies sound
Distorted .for example Beethoven and Brahms symphonies.
But when i go to a concert the sound is perfect.

Itā€™s good to know I have plenty of headroom butI worry that the S sounds are already very prominent and may overwhelm the sound if I push too hard.

I guess three things are going on; my boosted high frequency hearing is imperfect, my hearing aids are imperfect and I need to get used to them.

I do like them though. Itā€™s odds on that I will keep them and I think others should consider them as an option

It is hard but it feels good to be doing something about it.

It bothers me greatly that I have this fabulous system and literally canā€™t hear everything it outputs. It has done a great job of damping down the urge to upgrade, but it also seems illogical to downgrade as that will just double down on the loss.

There are many adjustments that can be made by the audiologist. The problem is usually to find a common language that the audiologist and the customer both understand.

My last audiologist who has now retired told me that I was the only customer he had ever had who would show up in his clinic and ask him to change such and such kHz by so and so dB.

These days I adjust my own hearing aids, which is easy enough to do but you do need to know what you are doing and recognise what you are hearing. Also because the programming interface box is notionally classed as a medical device in Europe, buying one for your own use is a bit more complicated that one would like it to be.

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An interesting development

I will be popping into my dealer later and Iā€™m considering discussing hearing loss with them, with the possibility of downgrading. Perhaps to a Nova. Part of me thinks itā€™s preposterous to have all those amps and power supplies when Iā€™m not able to hear them properly. The other half of my brain says that just makes things worse.

What do others think.

Keith

I bet I have worse hearing than you, but in Naimā€™s demo room last time I was there I could clearly hear the sound quality improvement of Statement over 500 series and on a previous visit I greatly preferred the NDX2 with a 555PS DR than the NDX2 on its own.

So personally I donā€™t think you should be downsizing in a hurry at all.

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Thatā€™s what I hoped you would say David (about downgrading, not your hearing!) :slightly_smiling_face:

Thereā€™s a mental aspect to this as well as auditory. It does bother me, I have to admit. I think thereā€™s a process of adjusting to and accepting the new reality

I guess the trick is to get a place where itā€™s possible to enjoy what you hear rather than fixate on what you canā€™t

The way I look at it is that itā€™s the music I have the HiFi for and not the HiFi sound in itself. Anyway my slowly deteriorating hearing is normal for me. Itā€™s been getting progressively worse since I was about 25 and so I just get on with it.

I let my music listening lapse for a number of busy years in my 40s, 50s and early 60s, but as I played around adding CDs to a Brennan ripper/player to use in my home office after I retired the first time, I made the unexpected discovery that a 320 kbps MP3 sounded much less pleasant to me that a WAV and that kicked off a lot of my money flowing in the direction of Salisbury over the ensuing years.

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Iā€™m in the process of ā€œupgradingā€ at the moment but its my hearing aids Iā€™m upgrading!

I can clearly hear the difference my KEF LS50W and bedroom Bluesound system and main Naim rig. I can clearly hear the difference between the 3 DSP settings (4 if you count DSP off) that I got 2 years ago, so no I wouldnā€™t recommend a downgrade due to hearing loss.

I have always used Phonak and (mainly due to David) am trialling Resound. Slightly better with speech but worse with music is what Iā€™m getting, so just like regular hifi, we all hear things differently. My audiologist has another brand (whose name I forget) that she said a musician raved about so Iā€™ll test them next and also then the newest current Phonak. Iā€™m finding with music that the regular music program on Phonak sounds best and doesnā€™t need tweaking by the audiologist that my previous pair needed (but that may simply be down to my DSP).

So if I were you I go towards hearing aids with the same positivity and excitement you would about a black box upgrade, cause that certainly is what it is.

.sjb

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Interesting. Are these Resound One or Resound Omnia you are trialling?

Iā€™m not sure actually, how does one tell, they donā€™t mention One or Omnia anywhere on them, the box or app?

.sjb

Hmm! I canā€™t see anything on the box my Oneā€™s came in either, although the serial numbers and maybe the part numbers would tell an audiologist and the fitting software would also know!

The Resound One was their premium model until about two months ago when they released the Resound Omnia as a new even more premium model. They still sell the One though. Physically the two models look rather similar externally, so itā€™s probably something you would have to ask your audiologist. I have Omnias on order, but my audiologistā€™s parent company has some policy that is delaying the introduction of the new Resound models into their catalogue until they can have their own branded version to sell to their general customer base.

I think they are most likely the RS One, as this was what Iā€™m pretty sure the audiologist called them as I was incorrectly was calling them Quattro.

Itā€™s an interesting journey trialling a few different models, I may well even end up with a general pair and a hifi pair.

.sjb

The Quattro was the model prior to the One and actually sounds a lot less good to me. So you donā€™t want them!

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Hi SJB,

The default music setting sounds nice, but doesnā€™t make a massive difference, it just brightens things at the top end. I have 4 other music settings, which progressively boost the default. So high frequencies become more notable and thereā€™s more air. On the downside, they are more sibilant, especially my own voice. It has to be said that the Phonaks have a tonal signature that becomes less noticeable when you get used to it.

Itā€™s interesting that you prefer the Phonaks. We are indeed all different. Does your hearing roll off at higher frequencies, like mine?

I agree that itā€™s a good idea to think of hearing aids like black boxes. I just had a bit of a wobble last night. I need to enjoy my normal (enhanced by hearing aids) rather than be dissatisfied that I canā€™t hear everything exactly as recorded. Listening to the new Arctic Monkeys record on atm and it sounds great.

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At some point when my life settles a bit, I will rebook an audiology test.

Iā€™ve been reading on what is on the inside of the ear drum as my ear canals are clear of wax but if I get a blocked nose / sinuses the tinnitus gets worse.

Also, it developed after Covid - uncertain if coincidence or connected