I finally went for a test, moderate loss at high frequency. Just had Widex aids fitted. I can’t believe how much music I have been missing. Expensive but definitely worth it. Music mode on the app is great.
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Hi Mike,
That’s great news. Widex looks interesting. The website says they can tell the difference between pop and classical which is an impressive claim. It doesn’t look like they are widely available in the UK if the dealer search is to be believed.
My Phonaks only make a marginal difference. Perhaps my high frequency hearing is too far gone or not bad enough. I really don’t know.
Keith
You have probably tried this but just in case.
If you choose the music program and select adjust program and the choose the equaliser pre-sets and up them up a notch, doe you notice any difference or is it just unpleasant?
I have my general music program which is (mostly) ideal for pre-digital era. I find more current / modern recordings can sound a little dead or dull and I increase the mid (and/or) treble to give them some bite.
.sjb
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Hi Keith
I am rather pleased. Still discovering what I have been missing.
Mike
Hi SJB,
In theory, the audiologist already did that and set up four music settings that progressively boost the effect. I can hear they make a difference but I’m not sure I like the results which are a long way from the default. I suspect I’m expecting too much. I asked her questions about the graphs which I’m afraid she struggled to answer.
Btw, how did you get on with the Resound aids?
Certainly didn’t do it for me with music (but might have if it were my first ones and I tweaked them but I was at the stage where the Phonak were working for me.
(I’m happy enough with music and am searching for hearing aids to improve speech recognition, so I don’t hear smelly Jesus instead of smelly cheeses)
I have also demoed Starkey and they certainly were different for music and might be well worth a try if it’s only music is your issue. (for speech they were no better than the Phonak)
What (I think) I’m learning is that hearing aids are no different to DACs / Amps etc. there are some that will suit us better, have different digital filters, have more PRAT even.
It looks like I will either end up with newer Phonaks (due to trial shortly) or move to Resound for speech and keep my current Phonaks for music. This may seem extreme but it’s no more extreme than buying an SL cable to “improve” the sound. My music system now has a final step that most don’t have -hearing aids and this is the best bang for buck that I can spend on my system (along with DSP HAF filters).
Probably due to the inculcation of “no tone controls” I was averse to having choices in my hearing aids for music, thinking one setting should work for all. Letting this go has been a revelation and a release. As mentioned above if listening to the Beatles I use the general music program, if listening to Sons of Kemet I have the mids and treble dialled up a notch and both now sound very enjoyable to my ears. Previously I wanted a setting that didn’t make the Beatles too bright or the Sons of Kemet too dull. And of course this is my hifi, my room, my ears and my hearing aids so there are so many variables that no-one can really read anything into this apart from
hearing loss is not the end of enjoyment of music, in fact it can be the start of a renewal process
.sjb
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Good afternoon everyone,
I am following this thread with great interest.
I am 69 years old and, perhaps inevitably, am experiencing some disturbance in my hearing. I have tinitus and some hearing loss at higher frequencies. I did a little on-line test and it clearly showed loss, but I have made an appointment for a more formal hearing test when I visit the UK at Christmas (I live in France).
This thread clearly comes at a very opportune time for me and I am grateful to all of those who have been prepared to share their experiences. There are some particular issues:-
- the fact that the aids can actually enhance the hifi experience
- I don’t need to be anxious or embassassed about it
- there is plenty of product choice out there
Thanks everyone - I’ll update you with my experiences in due course!
Brian D.
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I can report very positive results from my Minerva ear defenders, which I bought at the same time as the Phonaks.
I first wore them at the Dylan gig in Cardiff and wasn’t convinced but it wasn’t very loud.
A sterner test was front row for Porcupine Tree at Wembley. My watch was telling me that sound levels were sometimes exceeding 100dB. The Minervas are supposed to reduce noise by 18dB. The results were startling clarity. My hearing distorts at high volumes and that was solved. I also felt that I was hearing the music more directly rather than than losing it in the acoustics of the venue. Good value at £140 and highly recommended.
Keith
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I very much endorse your final comments in bold and I agree that hearing aids are potentially far more important than similarly priced cables and switches. That was the point of this thread and I’m disappointed that @Richard.Dane moved it to the Lounge.
I also think there is a psychological and psycho-acoustic aspect to this. It’s not fun to confront the fact that others can hear stuff you can’t. My lower frequency hearing is pretty good and music still sounds great but my wife and kids would probably find it dull compared to theirs. But it’s all I know and can be improved with hearing aids.
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Finally had my audio test and check up.
As I explained before I developed tinnitus after covid. It comes and goes.
Audiologist felt my ear drums were slightly convex, indicating there might be fluid behind them - so referred to GP.
Hearing test not too bad - It shows the usual ageing tendency for higher frequency loss but not enough to be a hearing issue.
I hope GP can help with the fluid build up and we will see if that makes any difference.
in terms of listening rather than hearing - I am enjoying music I listen to and don’t seem to be missing higher frequencies enough to be worried about yet…will take some time to look at my read outs and consider further.
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Hi Wren
Good to hear it’s not too bad for you. My hearing drops off above 3k but I was told, by the first audiologist that it wasn’t bad enough for hearing aids. The second one only suggested I try them because music is a particular thing for me.
TBH, in normal every day life it’s not an issue for me. It’s only listening to music and very noisy environments that it becomes an issue. The tinnitus is only a problem when I think about it.
Keith
Good afternoon everyone,
In late Novmebr, I wrote a post saying that I was due to have a hearing test in London in December and that I would report back when I returned to France.
I’m home now and I’m happy to report that my test went really well. It was conducted in the Crouch End branch of a well-known supplier of spectacles, by their audiologist, named Enna, who was extremely professional and helpful. As expected, I have some “drop-off” in my hearing at higher levels, classified as “mild” and actually quite good for my age. Enna offered a number of alternative actions, including investigating the hearing-aid route, but we agreed that this was not really required at this stage. I will have another test next year, unless things deteriorate before then. We also discussed music volume levels and she recommended staying well below 80db.
Back to the music …!
Brian D.
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Hi Brian, that’s great news 
I was advised not to worry about aids by the first audiologist and the second one only agreed it would be appropriate because of my audiophile proclivities. I don’t really get much from them in normal everyday use but I don’t think I would have noticed a problem if it were not for music I have know since my teenage years.
When listening to music they make higher frequency sounds a little louder and cymbals go tish instead of toosh. This is a little reductive perhaps but is broadly true.
The aim of the thread was to explore whether hearing aids can help forum members with relatively mild healing loss and the answer seems to be perhaps. It would be interesting to know if your loss is milder than mine (mine is shown earlier in the thread).
Keith
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Good news Brian.
Following my hearing test - GP referred me for NHS audiologist in early jan.
I’ve had one of the bugs going round so my ears are blocked and tinnitus is louder.
GP prescribed a nasal spray to try and clear the eustation tube behind my ear drum.
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Good evening Keith and Wren,
Thanks for your supportive comments.
This thread has helped me to be quite relaxed about the almost inevitable further decline in hearing in the years to come. The contributors have been consistently helpful and fair and, when discussing hearing aids, there hasn’t been any “mine is better than yours”, such as we see on some other threads!
I note that Keith used Specsavers - and I did too - but I didn’t mention the name as I was fearful that Richard might not approve. However, thankfully, that doesn’t seem to be the case. During my visit there, I asked the audiologist if she was able to e-mail to me a copy of the very clear and helpful graphs which illustrated my hearing profile, but it is not company policy to allow this. Unfortunately, I didn’t have the foresight simply to photograph it! I wish that I had as it would have been useful for reference.
I have had a quick listen to the Genesis track mentioned above and I support the caveat relating to the version used. The opening section on the 2004 remix is utterly different from the 2007 re-master - and this was on Spotify. If a listener assigned the differences to declining hearing only, it would be alarming indeed. Interested readers can find my views on re-mastering elsewhere!
Brian D.
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This is very useful learning for anyone having their hearing tested! It is well worth taking a photo of the screen. I don’t think any audiologist will try to prevent you.
I was given a print out of mine…
I’m surprised by that. I’d have thought my hearing profile was my medical (Sensitive Personal) information and I’d be surprised that it was withheld from me. Am I misunderstanding?
Good morning Eoink,
I was surprised too, but perhaps if I had gone ahead with purchasing a hearing aid, the situation might have been different.
I live in France and here, all of one’s health information is immediately available.
Brian D.
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Hi Eoink,
Yes, I agree it’s surprising, but David is absolutely right and this is great advice. They’re our ears and you would think we would have open access to our data, but apparently not 
I had a hearing test 4-5 years ago and didn’t photograph the results. It would have been interesting to see how my hearing changed over that period.