I am experiencing normal age related hearing degradation, and getting familiar with hearing aids.
I just received a pair of Eargo in ears, and am quite disappointed in their effect on music.
They are clearly introducing a terrible layer of raspiness on top of everything. Suddenly my dry tuning sounds like a french musette at 15 cent detune. another analogy is like I’m playing thru a ring modulator, or perhaps a caliope.
When I mute them, while I hear the high end drop off, the music is so much more pleasant that I’m concerned that wearing them will drive me away from playing.
Can anyone share their experience with these or other brands of hearing aid?
thanks!
Sorry you’re having trouble. Yes, it’s common for most hearing aids to have some weak points; they are, at best a compromise. However, it’s important to first rule out any physical cause for hearing loss, aside from the natural, age-related losses.
Your internist is a good place to start. If your internist feels that there is a physical cause, such as indicated by a sudden, rather than gradual loss, he will recommend a medical specialist to further evaluate and treat your condition. If not, your internist might welll suggest a visit to an audiologist.
An audiologist will look into your ear canals to see if there is a lot of wax build-up, although your internist should have done that. Next, the audiologist will test your responses to sounds at various pitches and intensities of sound and use that to create an audiogram. He or she will do this with you in a soundproof booth, one ear at a time, through an earphone, but also possibly through conduction of sound through your skull. While in the booth, he or she will also ask you to repeat a series of words. Outside of the booth, the audiologist will measure the flexibility of your eardrums. Then, the audiologist will go over your audiogram with you and recommend hearing aids that will be custom ordered for you, and give you the price. Be prepared for sticker-shock, but your insurance might cover most of that. If you consent, he or she will take impressions of your ear canal that will be used at the hearing aid factory to custom-cast the shells of your new devices. Some of these procedures may be tempoarily uncomfortable, but not painful.
Each audiologist has a connection to one or several hearing aid manufacturers. All manufacturers today produce digital hearing aids, and in a competitive field that means that equivalent product lines will have similar features.
However, I’m writing here of custom hearing aids prescribed by a professional audiologist, not something you’d buy over the counter, like the ones you have. Usually those non-custom hearing aids are nothing more than full-range amplifiers in miniature. They might work for some people, not for all.
Some of the things you should know:
1. Unlike eyeglasses which can correct your vision, hearing aids cannot restore what you’ve already lost. Once your ability to hear certain frequencies at reasonable volume levels is lost, that cannot be reversed. However, hearing aids, properly prescribed, can help you make the best use of whatever hearing you have left for a period between six months and three years. So, a visit to the audiologist who prescribed them every six months is essential. But your audiologist will explain all of that to you.
2. It’s not a stigma to wear hearing aids. It is a serious miscalculation to deny that you have a problem and not wear them. Your hearing aids will, initially, feel and sound strange. Your audiologist might be able to make some adjustments, but you have to allow time to get used to them as well.
I’ve been using hearing aids for more than thirty-five years. I’ve been through several audiologists during that time: most because I found fault with them after a while, some who retired, and one wonderful audiologist who, unfortunately, died young.
