Hearing aids?

[SGraham]

Maybe I should have posted this under Equipment...

I just got back from the doctor where I found out that over the last five years my hearing has declined 5% in my left ear (which is no big deal) and 40% in my right ear. That's quite a drop. The tinnitus in my right ear sounds like a jet engine warming up. At work, it's getting really hard to understand what my students are saying. Music-wise, I can't hear harmonics anymore. The doctor says it may be Meniere's. Hearing problems run in my family. My daughter was born with profound hearing loss, and my grandpa went completely deaf in his 60's. One of my ears, at least, seems to be heading in that direction. It's a good thing when you have crickets in the house, though.

So, I'm going to be looking into getting a hearing aid for the right side. Do any of you play music while wearing a hearing aid? Does it help or is it better without it?

[George R. Lane]

Steve,
I too have lost about 25% hearing in both ears, too many concerts when I was a kid. I went to Costco and got my hearing aids there. There are digital models and have three programs for different situations, #1 is normal conditions, #2 for background noise reduction, and #3 is for music (no compression). All the programs work well but, the music one I have to usually lower the volume as it picks up the A and E string vibration too well. I will warn you that hearing aids do not give the sound that a person with normal hearing has. With that in mind I wish you the best.

[Paul Busman]

Do you have episodes of vertigo? Those are characteristic of Meniere's.
One day back in '71 I noticed a slight whistling sound in my right ear. Over the course of the afternoon it got louder, and I went pretty nearly deaf in that ear. Then the vertigo started...the whole world appeared and felt to be spinning violently. I ended up throwing up everything in my stomach. The nice people in the ER looked at my long hair and beard, and being the '70s came to the conclusion that I must be on drugs, which I was not.
I was put in my college's infirmary, and gradually the vertigo got better. The hearing mostly came back, but I've had tinnitus ever since. At first they were thinking Meniere's, but a specialist they sent me to disagreed. Best consensus is that I had a type of viral ear infection which accounts for all of those symptoms.
Over the years, the hearing loss which was mild at first got gradually worse. I finally got evaluated for a hearing aid-- one of the fancy digital type which interfaces through my iPhone via Bluetooth. It has made a big difference in my ability to hear conversation in noisy environments. It helps all around. I use it for playing mandolin and banjo, but for penny whistle it's awful if I'm the one playing it. If I'm listening to someone else or a recording, it's fine. I'm glad I finally overcame vanity and got the aid.

[rockies]

Also part of the hearing loss group so fighting the hearing aid music sound quality as well. I also had them remove the compression on program 3 and then took my mandolin in to the shop. Then with the tech adjusted the waveforms on the computer screen raise and lower the curves in about 3db steps until I got an "OK" sound. This took about 4 trips trying different things. The main problem with hearing aids is they're made for voice range not music and the band width is very limited, they drop off radically above 5 kHz and below 300hz. I have heard there is a company making a wide bandwidth hearing aid for musicians but the price I heard is in the range of a Gilchrist (I'd rather have the Gilchrist LOL)
Anyway if you are going for the aids don't be afraid or timid, get a good tech, have your instrument and between the two of you program it for the best sound for YOUR ears, it won't be perfect but it will be as good as YOU can get it. Good Luck !!
Dave

[rockies]

George, I should have mentioned with your ear response to the A and E strings, with your mandolin there they can pull the high end frequencies down a few db and get a lot better balance for you. So take your mandolin in with you when you and they do it. The aids are programmable so might as well use it. They usually just program based on the curves from your hearing test, which is fine for voice on programs 1 and 2 but have them do a custom program on 3 just for your mandolin/ guitar etc
Dave

[Strabo]

I have had fairly severe hearing loss in my left ear for a number of years. I use hearing aids in both ears to balance the sound and to minimize further losses. The aids are certainly helpful in improving understanding of speech, especially in noisy conditions such as restaurants.

My hearing aids are about 5 years old and have four programs for various conditions, as noted above. As you probably know, an audiologist can configure each of the programs to fit the various circumstances in which you will use the aids, for example, normal conversation, noisy environments, watching television, etc. Some hearing aids can be configured by the user.

While hearing aids can definitely improve understanding of speech and perception of other sounds, the result is definitely not exactly like normal good hearing. Things simply sound different and it takes some time to get used to it. It may take several attempts to get your aids optimally configured as you become accustomed to the amplified sound.

In the most sensitive setting of my hearing aids, the A and E strings sound strident and a bit harsh. So I use the second setting, with slightly less amplification of high frequency sounds. If you have an audiologist configure your aids, you might consider taking your mandolin along to improve your chances of hearing your music as pleasantly as possible.

Hope this helps.

[ald]

What an amazing coincidence. Just before Christmas I attended a concert performed by Gregory Porter which I had been looking forward for about six months. The whole thing was marred because of my one ear being blocked. My hearing has been deteriorating over the last six years or so but this was a drastic drop in my left ear induced, I thought, by a bout of flu. I went several times to the specialist who in the end sent me for a scan (on the prescription was marked possible tumour). Anyway, over at the hospital they diagnosed it as most probably hydrops (some kind of precursor to Meuniers). The drugs they gave me improved my hearing but not as well (or as bad as before). It was quite depressing to start with as I have been recording myself of late and have to put on earphones in order to record harmonies, guitar and bass to back up my mandolin. I am now more reconciled to my fate (especially as they did not find anything a lot more serious) and have starting recording myself again.

I extend all my sympathies to my fellow suffers and hope you manage to overcome your difficulties as much as possible

[G7MOF]

I take mine out when I play one of my mandolins, but leave it in for the other.
I put a post up a while ago called, (Annoying Click) In General Mandolin Discussions. Check this one out.

[orion]

I too have reduced hearing in both left and right.... due to a few years of listening to music at too loud a volume. There's a certain spike in the graphic representation of my hearing pattern as measured by the audiologist that's typical of that kind of hearing loss. It's annoying but there's little I can do to reverse it.

I try to wear my aids when I play with others and I recommend it for other players. The reason is that your playing is lost in the mix and that causes a person to 'over' pick. In other words, the wrist is not relaxed and the outcome can be very poor. In a band situation when amplified, I've developed a set-up that works well for me and doesn't require hearing aids. I use in-ear monitors. IEMs may as well be hearing aids and depending on your set up, they allow you to play directly into a mic. I can clearly hear everything I play (plus the stuff I shouln't play).

Orion

[SGraham]

Wow, thank you everyone for the helpful replies. I was wondering if I should even bother getting a hearing aid. I have a couple of friends who simply take their hearing aids out when they play (guitar players). Yes, I have the vertigo, but it's not debilitating, just annoying. I haven't even started the process of obtaining a hearing aid yet, but the audiologist said he was working with a team to develop a better hearing aid for musicians. That sounds nice but scarey pricewise. I think I'd also prefer a Gilchrist. I never thought about bringing in my mandolin while getting the hearing aid adjusted. That's a great idea.

Have any of you had any success with hearing aids cutting down on the tinnitus?

[Nevin]

I have severe hearing loss and wear an aid in my one working ear. I wear it while playing. The key is to get a good aid fitted by a good audiologist who understands you are amusician. They have to fine tune the program of the aid rather than give you a generic program fitted to your hearing test. Have a test done with the aid in your ear and re-calibrate the program to match.

Aids take some getting used to but they can improve your life.

[ald]

SGraham,

Did your medical people offer any medication (diuretics) and talk about changing your diet (low-salt, keeping caffeine, alcohol down, avoiding stress)?

[SGraham]

Thanks Nevin and the rest of you who gave good advice. I have a better idea of how to go about this now. I really appreciate it.

Ald, yes, they told me to cut back on the salt. Cutting back on the stress is going to be harder. My wife has Huntington's Disease and is in the advanced stages of it. That ramps up the stress a LOT. Playing mandolin is one of the main stress reducers in my arsenal right now. It all tends to make a person thoughtful. The abilities we take for granted can be taken away from us so easily. I want to enjoy mandolin playing as the blessing it is for as long as I can, and I really need my ears to be able to do that.

Thanks again for all the replies.

[mandroid]

the Amplifier for my mandolin has been called My hearing aide.

[Spencer]

Pretty much all been said, but just to add in a bit, I have hearing aids in both ears, and leave them in all the time why I play, though I sometimes turn them down a bit if I get too close the banjo. They have been a huge help to my singing, but the mandolin sound is probably not the best, and a lot different than without the aids. Makes one wonder what other folks hear, and how different the same instrument sounds to different persons.

I'm on my second set, it is amazing what they can do, and they keep getting better. Don't understand why more people don't get them, it's no secret to others that one needs them.

Also have tinnitis, nothing can be done with it, so you just need to accept it and learn to live with it, sometimes easier said than done.

Good luck

Spencer

[John Kinn]

I have used hearing aids in both ears for many years. The old ones tended to feed back, but I've gotten new ones this winter, and they are fine playing gigs or at home (no volume buttons). The only disadvantage is that high treble notes sometimes tend to sound slightly "pulsating" (for lack of a better description), but it doesnn't bother me much, and I know that I'm the only one hearing it. Some years ago my preference switched from rosewood to hog on guitars, probably because of the (generally) clearer treble on hog guitars. No problem with the mandolin, though.

[Jackgaryk]

I have a substantial amount of hearing loss, tinnitus also. like Spencer...I have learned to live with it. As far as the hearing aids go, " I know I need 'em but can't afford 'em." anyway I could get a couple really nice mandolins for the price of a couple of really nice hearing aids. huh? what?

[Tobin]

I thought y'all might find this interesting. I saw it in a news article today:

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects...y-you-hear-the

It's a new product on Kickstarter, trying to get funding (I have no current financial interest, and haven't yet decided whether to contribute). It's called "Here", and they describe it as an active listening device. Basically, it's a set of wireless ear buds that are connected to your mobile device. They do not act as a set of headphones for playing music. They are not a headset for phone conversations. What they do is simply filter the noise that would otherwise be coming into your ear, and you can tailor the filters however you wish, according to the pre-programmed app settings.

You can set it to cancel engine noise on a plane (or presumably in a car). You can filter out crying babies. You can simply turn down the volume for the world around you.

But the cool part is that it has adjustable settings for listening to live music. You can boost bass, adjust reverb, etc. Instead of trying to buy a better sounding mandolin, you can just make it sound better by adjusting how you hear it! Obviously, those around you won't hear what you're hearing, so it won't help the way you sound to others in a jam setting. But for playing alone, it could be a pretty neat thing that maximizes your enjoyment of your own playing. Aside from general public use, they are marketing it as a potential tool for sound producers, mix technicians, and other music industry folks.

There may be potential here for folks who wear hearing aids, but can't stand the way it makes their mandolin sound.

They have a video of a couple of classical violin players trying it out. They really seemed to get a kick out of it.

[FLATROCK HILL]

Most of my life has been spent riding loud motorcycles and flying loud airplanes and quite a few years of it playing in ungodly loud bar-bands. My hearing has suffered for it. Wish I would have paid more attention way back when I was first advised to wear hearing protection or..."TURN IT DOWN!"

I cringe when I see all the kids now days with the ear-buds in constantly. Music so loud that I can hear what they're listing to when they walk by. I try to tell them sometimes, but who's gonna listen to an old man that thinks it's TOO LOUD?

I'm not insinuating that all hearing loss is self-inflicted. It's just such a waste when it is.

[craigw]

I've been wearing hearing aids for 6-7 years now. At first I would take them out while playing music since it sounded too processed or electronic to my ears. I have a major mid-range loss with good hearing of the bass tone and ultra highs. One night being one of the first to arrive at a jam and playing guitar along with two banjos I flat out couldn't hear my instrument since it is mid-range and the banjos were bordering on "dog tone" which is what I could hear. I decided to suck it up and put the hearing aids back in and even though it sounded processed I at least could hear what I was playing. My audiologist had told me that my hearing loss had taken many years to develop, that to my brain my poor hearing became normal and when the part of the sound spectrum I was missing for so long was digitally reintroduced it would initially sound funky. It was only through constant wearing of them over a period of time that I could reprogram and develop a new normal. Ever since then I have worn the aids from the time I get up in the morning until I go to bed at night. After doing this for a while it really didn't take that long for that sense of normalcy to come and nothing sounds processed or electronic any more.

[mandoritz]

Hello All.

I wear a BAHA ( bone anchored hearing aid ) . It works by sending the sound wave through a titanium screw implanted into my skull via a sound box. This hits both cochlea's through sound conduction . I have no hearing left side and eardrum perforated on right side . Its a godsend . As some of you have wrote it takes time to get used to it and in my opinion well worth it. Interestingly I can plug both ears and still hear .

[Gerard Dick]

I have hearing aids in both sides. They can be blue tooth linked to my phone for hands free and also to a device called a TV link that streams the sound from the TV direct to your ears. This device is useful also as a monitor when I am playing through an amp. This greatly reduces feedback potential as the monitors are right in my ears.

[Bill Clements]

This thread is a fine example of why the Cafe is a great place.
Bravo.

[MysTiK PiKn]

I don't use hearing aids. I do use earplugs usually with loud machines, chain saw, etc. My ears have been abused a couple of times - more to a minor degree w assorted bands, etc. But I say 2 because they were stand out examples of insane noise levels for the purpose of watching a band play. One was the Allman bros, a friend beside me was screaming in my ear, and I couldn't hear him. The other was similar. I had an amp I used to run at 4, and that was loud. I went to a jam session/party, where there were 2 cokeheads with marshall stax. I had my amp at 10, and couldn't hear it. I packed up and left.
There were many occasions where I had high pitched squeal in my ears, like a constant hiss, for a couple days maybe. But those 2 experiences, the hiss lasted for a week. And sometimes, I wonder if I ever recovered from it. I am aware of a hiss nearly full time now, or maybe it's just my ears functioning normally - I have forgotten what normal was, or if it still is.
I notice my E and A strings seem too loud sometimes, slightly bothersome. I seem to still have good hearing. Lately I notice tv gets louder sometimes, so I started deliberately keeping volume low, or set just right for me. I have good ears for tuning, pitch sensitivity.
I used to hear the warnings about loud music. I too have heard kids with earbuds, and I can hear what they are assaulting themselves with. I think I have been pretty lucky so far. When mowing lawns, chains sawing, weedwakker, blower, etc., I wear a helmet with face shield, ear muffs, and use plugs otherwise. I have used chain saw without protection, and after a couple minutes, the sound is not so bad, so it seems. I have heard the warnings and try to avoid those experiences. If I go to a concert, I will pack a pair of earplugs as a backup plan.
I appreciate reading what many of you have shared here. Seems to me, this is valuable information; and it likely helps to know that you are not alone, and there are many solutions to hearing problems. Like I said, I am good for now; but I have been blasted, and this info might help me sometime. I recently did some factory work; and I think the current hiss/ringing I am experiencing might be related to that. Ear plugs are not adequate; but they are better than nothing. If you wear plugs for a while, you can pull them out, and see what they are screening out - and also what they don't screen out. (high freq)
Thanks all for sharing valuable information with your fellow human beings.

[mindfunk27]

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