Hearing aids for musicians

[mcgroup53]

I have mild hearing loss in the highs and mods, moderate in the lows. All the usual age-related crap. Hard to hear conversations in loud environments, blah blah

Trying out a set of high-end Unitron receive-in-ear aids that have a music program built in. They work, but I’ve had to take them out at times while playing because of resonant frequencies, feedback and other anomalies.

I have some time left on the trial period but I think I’m going to take them back. Too costly for the improvements in quality of life.

How do Cafe members manage this? I worry that these devices will overly color the sound of my instruments when I play and in listening to music in general. Any suggestions?

[Picking Dick]

This won’t be any help to you, but I have hearing problems too. I’m looking forward to your thread, hoping to learn something about hearing for musians.

[George R. Lane]

I have been wearing hearing aids for the past 5 years. Mine are Resound, I got them at Costco (about $1.700). I took my mandolin in when I was tested and they created a program for music, I have three programs, Normal, Noise (to cut down on the background noise, where a lot of people are talking) and Music (no compression). So far I have been very happy with them. If I start to hear any kind of feedback I just lower the volume a tad and everything is good. I hope this helps.

[Rick Crenshaw]

I have two sets of hearing aids. One set, ResoundAir, is over 10 years old and has the receiver in the body and a hollow tube transmitting the sound to the ear canal. It has one program set at the audiologist office, is very susceptible to rain and moisture and has had the electronic workings reworked three times. Not sure they can or will redo them. They were expensive at the time - about $5000 total. I’ve spent about $300 each time for a reworking of the innards. I love these hearing aids and use them solely for mandolin and guitar practice and gigs. I just don’t get the feedback and resonant clicks and squealing that I do on the new pair.

The newer set is about three years old, Phonak Brio, and has the in-ear receiver. These I bought at Costco and were much more affordable and work great - except for guitar and mandolin. They are highly water resistant, programmable, and have been maintenance free. I have had them reprogrammed quite a few times by two different audiologists at Costco bringing in my mandolin each time. They have called Phonak while I was there programming and they have worked diligently and honestly trying to get these to my satisfaction. They have gotten it close, but they just do not work as well as the older ones. One audiologist suggested the difference might be the in-ear receiver vs. the open airtube/receiver-in-body configuration of the hearing aids. As I said, the newer ones are better in every other way except for mandolin and guitar work.

I have other friends who seem to have less trouble with the in-ear receiver types than I have. Perhaps it is the programmer, perhaps it is the hearing aid itself. Might want to talk to your audiologist at Costco. They still make the other type receiver in body, I believe. And I cannot speak with authority that this is indeed the problem or difference. But... a good pair of hearing aids can make a world of difference. My guitars and mandolins sound dead and lifeless to me without my hearing aids. Even the newer set makes the instruments sound better than without aids. It’s just the original hearing aid work perfectly for me. But how can I say I’m hearing what is actually coming out of my instrument, or is it just sounding good to me? I’ve always wondered that.

[rockies]

Same problems here, apparently the biggest problem is the bandwidth, aids are basically made for voice and the upper frequency is about 5khz, of course for music we need the bandwidth of 20khz to get all the harmonics etc that nake it sound good. I did what others have done, took mandolin down and had them modify one program for the best sound. However in a jam that doesn't help much, I guess I should take the whole jam down and have them program for best sound LOL. I did hear there is an aid made for musicians (wide bandwidth) but price was like $25000 so didn't look into it to see if it was true. Good luck
Dave
Dave

[Mike Arakelian]

I wear Widex hearing aids with the receiver in the ear. Widex aids have 4 or 5 programming options...i.e. master, tv, etc. I took my mandolin in to my audiologist’s office and she worked with Widex to program a “music” mode for me. I also asked her to program a mode that eliminates the automatic compression. As an aside for a moment, the automatic compression is what reduces loud background noises to help you hear speech better. With auto compression on, the aids would substantially reduce the sound of the other instruments in a jam..not so good. It turns out that I like the program that turns off the auto compression the best, so I use that program at jams or when playing either guitar or mandolin at home. I may have to manually turn the volume up or down a notch depending on the situation, but it works really well for me. Both my mandolin and guitar sound natural to me, and I have no problems with feedback.

The important point to understand is that a good audiologist can adjust the various frequencies on the hearing aids to give you something that sounds normal and good to your ears. It takes two way communication and some trial and error along with some patience, but it’s well worth the time and effort.

Good luck...Mike

[David L]

I also have Widex aids that I tried several combinations of programming with. I use a "Universal" setting which listens and adjusts to the environment. I also have a "music" setting which DOESN"T listen and adjust! The music setting works well with both loud and soft musical groups. The music setting has a different volume setting and EQ setting.

[Nevin]

I wear a Widex and didn't think much of the "Music" program. I think the OP may be dealing with the normal issues of getting used to hearing aids. It is hell for the first few days, unpleasant for the next week and then you find yourself forgetting you have them. Your brain has to re-learn how to listen with a different level of input.

[Roger Adams]

I agree with Nevin, they take some time to adjust too! My wife likes them better than I do! LOL

I have the Kirkland brand from Costco, and they are set up with 4 programs which I control from my iPhone: "Automatic", Noise/Party, Television and Playing Music. The music program works well for me with both mandolin and banjo.

[Dan Cohen]

I have had the Phonak Audeo V90/10 for about 2 years. The audiologist setup a few programs including one for loud environments like having dinner in a loud restaurant and trying to hear the conversation, as well as a music program. I'm not sure what the music program does technically but I can hear a lot more of the tones and delicacies of my sound. One caveat is that I mostly play in quiet environments. I play mostly classical. I'm addicted to using the aids for music. The difference is that dramatic.

The loud environment program is a little helpful and not nearly as special as the music program. I still struggle.

I bought the 10 (smallest V90 with the smallest battery) for vanity sake. If I were to do it over again I might go for the next larger size, still small, because the battery life on the 10 size is just a few days.

[dhergert]

I have moderate hearing loss from decades of blissful hearing abuse with music, target shooting and motorcycle riding... Primarily my problem is tinnitis.

My primary care physician prescribed for me to see the local Beltone audiologist about 5 years ago. The audiologist indicated their hearing aids might be able to help a little for the tinnitis, and they did a little, but mostly they were intended to compensate for the other areas of hearing loss that I have. I did bring in my mandolin, and the audiologist did adjust the frequencies for my mandolin.

Unfortunately because their hearing aids at that time had the receiver in the body which hangs behind the ear, I could never get used to hearing things behind me better than things in front of me, and I gave up using them.

They were pretty pricey devices. They were radio controlled and came with a pocket dongle for controlling on the fly. Fortunately they were almost completely covered by my work's health insurance.

Wearing hearing aids did teach me some things though...

1) Any new hearing aid that I try will have to have the receiver in the ear. I cannot tolerate hearing sounds behind me better than sounds in front of me. Also, I don't want to have to carry a single purpose pocket dongle for controlling these devices. Whatever I get will have to have software that can be used on my phone. The reputation of the Cosco devices is strong and I may try them one day.

2) From a band or jam environment standpoint, I learned that I can still hear music well enough to continue, but if I watch other players pretty carefully while performing with them to make sure that I'm following the rhythm properly, it makes me a much better "team" player. So I've concentrated on playing without watching my hands so I can watch my band/jam mates more. This is helping a lot!

3) My biggest hearing problem was with my wife -- not more her than anyone else, but enough that she wondered if I had selective hearing with her, and it bothered her. At first she was somewhat insulted that I didn't hear her and she would overcompensate by nearly screaming, which would of course bother me. Then with time and age she also began having hearing problems, so at this time she's pretty understanding about it.

4) My next biggest hearing problem is in work related meetings, especially meetings that involve group interchange. I can read lips a little, but my biggest issue is that I tend to concentrate on body language more (probably from playing in bands), so in meetings I have to concentrate on listening better. Most of the meetings I attend have people talking pretty quietly, but fortunately with very low background noise. For meetings in noisy environments I can be pretty useless; fortunately in my business those don't happen very often. I'm targeting to retire in less than a year though, so this kind of meeting hearing issue will soon become less important.

5) I have found if I concentrate my attention, I can actually hear better in both conversations and music. Perhaps this is the nature of tinnitis. But this level of concentration doesn't always happen naturally, so I have to try more, and eventually fatigue can kick in.

I'll probably try hearing aids again through the years as technology improves. Cosco really has my attention for their hearing aids (NFI).

[twilson]

I also use Widex, for a little over a year now. My audiologist (an old timey banjo picker) programmed in a music setting like others have described above. She took out the annoying ‘tinkly’ highs from my mando and fiddle. That works ok when I am just playing on my own.

However, over time, I ended using the universal setting while playing music with others. This setting will, as David L describes above, adjust to the environment. I can hear other voices and instruments much better this way.

Hope this helps.

Tim Wilson

[Jim]

Just got mine, I have severe loss from about 10k up. I don't know the brand (New ear?) But I love them ! The speaking program has some compression and the Music program removes the compression. I like them both for their intended uses. Wow do they need to lube the sliding doors in the lobby at work!

[Brian Harris]

The hearing aid is important, but having it properly programmed by an Audiologist is critical. Proper programming requires a good hearing test, which requires a sound chamber, etc.

Hearing aids are often (and erroneously) thought to be analogous to glasses. They're aren't. There's a lot more going on.

That said, I work with a guy who gets cheap hearing aids off Amazon and it gives him just the bump he needs.

Source: My daughter is deaf, wears hearing aids, and being the protective dad I am (and a tech nerd) I've become a student of them. She wears Phonaks that run about $1k each. + another $1k each for the remote microphone system.

[Spencer]

Posts 3 and 7 are pretty much what I have and am quite pleased with. One thing to think about is the speaker arrangement in your ear channel. One type is the open type of device, in which the sounds you hear come through unchanged, and what you don't hear well is added on top. This works well if you loss isn't too great. The other option is the plug, where basically all the sound comes through the hearing aid, normally used with greater hearing loss. Last time I got a new set, the audiologist wanted me to try the plug, but the sound was really bad, so I kept the open option. It is a bit more prone to feedback, but I can live with that, and have learned how to avoid it. I dread the day when I have to go the plug, hope they improve things by then. There look to be some interesting things happening with cell phones and hearing aids.

As mentioned above it takes time to get used to them, at first, everything is bright almost metallic sounding, but the brain is really good at adapting to things, and before long everything sounds "normal". But if you are not satisfied, go back to the dealer/audiologist and try to get the issues fixed, and take an instrument along. If they can't fix the problems, try another brand, there are lots of options.

Good luck.

Spencer