livemusic Posted May 5, 2014 Share Posted May 5, 2014 Somebody mentioned hearing loss today. Well, I are there. High frequency loss. It has gotten bad enough I have now tried four types of hearing aids. I haven't liked any of them! All of them have been uncomfortable for my ears. All but one set fit in the canal and were invisible. One was a behind-the-ear type. Getting frustrated. Bout ready to hang it up. Have spent several months on this. Wondering how fast my hearing will further deteriorate. I have trouble hearing speech, especially when there is other noise. It's cramping my style socially and I talk on the phone a lot in my business and it's getting hard to understand people. Ugh. Not only have I had trouble with them being uncomfortable, the hearing improvement has not been very good. And geez, they are expensive. It's also a bummer I can't hear certain sounds in songs. An engineer has pointed out a sound before and I absolutely cannot even hear it! It doesn't exist for me! Anyone care to comment about how your hearing did or did not worse with time once you recognized a problem? I am age 60. Probably a combo of shooting a bazillion shotgun rounds during my teens and 20s, loud rock music on headphones... and genetics. Both parents had hearing aids. What a drag! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
retrorod Posted May 5, 2014 Share Posted May 5, 2014 I am sorry for your aggravation! I am 60 also. I guess I have some hearing loss. My wife often tells me, I am talking too loud. I can relate to your complaints, as my father (83) has had severe hearing loss for many years. He 'compensates' by doing "all" the talking and never "listening".....I suspect it is because he can't understand a damn thing anyone else says. He has had 'Numerous' hearing aids and has *****ed and complained about them all. I guess that we take our hearing for granted until it is taken away from us. Another of "life's cruel tricks"..... Yours may be genetic as you have family history. Hope that you can afford to get it 'sorted out'.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fumblefinger Posted May 5, 2014 Share Posted May 5, 2014 Welcome to the world of the hearing impaired. I can't hear a kettle whistling without my hearing aides and find it difficult to stay on pitch if I try singing without them. I have industrial deafness from a life time of operating heavy equipment and am on my second set of aides. Both sets are behind the ear and I've never had anyone notice without my pointing them out. I've worn mine all day, every day since the first day I got them back in 2009 and wouldn't be without them. Even $9000 (Australian) top of the line aides are far from natural hearing abilities but they're a hell of a lot better than the alternative which is sinking into a world of unintelligible isolation. So, sell the farm, get the best aides you can find and persevere. Evey thing will sound strange to start with, keep notes and keep going back to your audiologist for adjustments. Even the best aides will not give you the ability to hear every thing said in a noisy restaurant, but, understanding some of it is better than understanding none. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JuanCarlosVejar Posted May 6, 2014 Share Posted May 6, 2014 I would advise you to seek out the best hearing aids available ! My grandpa's 88 and he has lost a great deal of his hearing within the last 10 years. We were and still are very close . But conversation between us has suffered as a result of him not hearing well. When he wears his aid he hears better . Anyways don't let hearing lose take away the relationship with those you love try and find the best stuff you can get your hands on ! JC Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
L5Larry Posted May 6, 2014 Share Posted May 6, 2014 There's some scientists/inventors here in the Midwest that "claim" to have invented the "perfect" hearing aid by incorporating new digital technology. I guess through years in the music business I have gotten on their mailing list. Their propaganda brochure was interesting enough I kept it on file in case of future needs. See what you think of this: www.ZoundsHearing.com Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fortyearspickn Posted May 6, 2014 Share Posted May 6, 2014 LvMsc, I feel your pain. I am in the same place. Not sure what caused it - not a lot of exposure to loud noises. But, I did spend countless hours with a crappy, loud hi-pitched whining Dremel in my 40s. My loss also ranges around where the human voice is. Some folks speak a little louder and clearer, and I have no trouble hearing them. Some mumble - slur words and face in the opposite direction. Only have tried the behind the ear thingy that has a little wire with a 'speaker' at the end to amplify sounds in the range the computerized analysis says I'm missing. It helps. But, if people mumble and slur their words - there is no fixing that. Yes, it's tough having to try to hold a conversation at times. Especially on the phone. I just tell the mumbler on the other end that there's a bunch of noise in the room with me and they have to speak up. G'luck. Accept it as best you can friend. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
E-minor7 Posted May 6, 2014 Share Posted May 6, 2014 My hearing is back after a long problem that occurred during a journey in January 2013 where a severe frost attack got my whole system down. Oboy, this was awfull and everything just sounded weird - except what was heard in the cans. The acoustic guitars responded like tubular bells under water a clean nitemare. Went to several doctors and one female assistant even stopped in the middle of the test saying,"You have serious hearing loss". I responded like a snarling dog : YES, THAT IT WHY I'M HERE, ISN'T IT.. . Long story short. Theory was there was fluid in some small chambers above the inner ear that no one could/can see (we have a lot of these). So I decided to go the whole summer before seeing the next specialist, simply hoping the miniature-depots of water would be burned away by the sun. And it eventually got better. In September I went again and the doc told me things were now back on a normal level, , , for my age. Mmmm, , , my own idea is that I had no loss whatsoever before the attack and then returned to the slightly changed niveau as conditions cleared up. What do I know, , , apart from the fact that most things now sound as I recall them, , , but still with a slightly stolen top. Sometimes late in the evening I feel an ultra light tickle inside the ear-channels. Never did that before. Wonder if the fluid is still slowmotion-evaporating in there or if some of the mechanics recover , , , or have been forced to disintegrate. I can pitch now also while harmony singing with others face to face, but it's not the 100 percent original me. There is an indefineable twist. Maybe this coming summer will cure the rest. An optimistic wish, , , ? We'll see in August. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
duluthdan Posted May 6, 2014 Share Posted May 6, 2014 LM is your hearing loss accompanied by Tintinitus (constant ringing in the ears)? I have no idea how to stop it, truly is annoying. My 96 year old father fought off wearing hearing aids for years, now loves 'em, except that they feed back when he gets on the phone, so our conversations still sound like some sort of loving shouting match. Good luck with the solution. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DanvillRob Posted May 6, 2014 Share Posted May 6, 2014 Huh?? I started my work career as a Rock Musician....with our amps behind us. Then I went to work in a factory banging on sheet metal all day every day..... then I got drafted into the artillery........ back from 'Nam, I went back to the banging in the factory..... switched companies, but still in a factory..... so the assault on my ears has gone on for 50 years....... Hearing loss? duh! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blindboygrunt Posted May 6, 2014 Share Posted May 6, 2014 What you all doing wasting money on $2000 guitars for if none of you can hear em!!. :D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DanvillRob Posted May 6, 2014 Share Posted May 6, 2014 What you all doing wasting money on $2000 guitars for if none of you can hear em!!. :D In my case, it prevents me from having to listen to my awful singing when I play my $2000 guitars! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blindboygrunt Posted May 6, 2014 Share Posted May 6, 2014 On my case, it prevents me from having to listen to my awful singing when I play my $2000 guitars! Lol. Fair nuff Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
6stringTom Posted May 7, 2014 Share Posted May 7, 2014 The right hearing aids can change your life. Mine did. Funny thing, though. I sprang for a very high end model (next to the top)of behind the ear. Very small. Most people don't notice them. However, the little clear plastic tubes did irritate my very sensitive ears (allergies and such). Then the tech added a little piece of plastic that secures the tube more firmly to my ear and voila! problem solved. I have moderate tinnitus, too. The hearing aids help, if only by focusing my attention on what I want to hear. There are newer models with built in programs that are supposed to train you to not hear the tinnitus. I'll get those next time I change. I agree with JuanCarlosVejar--get the best you can afford. Check for coverage if you have health insurance. Go to a place that is recommended by friends and by your family physician. There seem to be a lot of high pressure, sales-at-all-costs operations in this field, but there are some good ones, too. Tell them you are a guitar player. Some models are better for music listening than others. By the way, tell family and friends that getting irritated with you doesn't make you hear any better. They should be responding like they would if you had a cast on or some other sign of limitation. Remind them that you are working on the problem. For some reason, people seem to think we don't hear them on purpose and take offense at it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
duluthdan Posted May 7, 2014 Share Posted May 7, 2014 What you all doing wasting money on $2000 guitars for if none of you can hear em!!. :D ALL IT TAKES IS THE ADDITION OF A $500 PICKUP, AND I CAN HEAR THEM JUST FINE. HEY, I WONDER IF I CAN PLUG MY HEADPHONES DIRECTLY INTO THE JACK? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fumblefinger Posted May 7, 2014 Share Posted May 7, 2014 What you all doing wasting money on $2000 guitars for if none of you can hear em!!. :D Just an indulgence of us old farts before we stumble off the immensity. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mking Posted May 8, 2014 Share Posted May 8, 2014 Stephen Stills uses a brand called Oticon Dual hearing aids. Here is a good article. http://hearingmojo.com/rock-roll-icon-stephen-stills-talks-about-his-lifelong-hearing-loss/ He speaks pretty highly of them and they have really helped him. You all might want to check these out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bill67 Posted May 8, 2014 Share Posted May 8, 2014 I've had hearing aids for about 5 years, I don't use them hardly at all, guitar sounds really treble with them on and bad. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
michaelnel Posted May 8, 2014 Share Posted May 8, 2014 I've had hearing aids for about 5 years, I don't use them hardly at all, guitar sounds really treble with them on and bad. Exactly! I have a pair that cost about $3k (and most insurance doesn't cover them). I mostly wear them when I am around people I care about to spare them the annoyance of me constantly asking them to repeat themselves. But for music, they are absolutely hideous. My very nice acoustic guitars sound tinny and cheap with the aids on. I am sure I miss out on a lot of high end sparkle that I would hear if I had normal hearing, but I don't, I haven't since I was about 10 years old, and I never will. So when I play my guitars, I play for me, and I play without the hearing aids. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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