Playing with hearing aids

[fgr814]

Hi, merry christmas to everybody

I've been playing guitar (both acoustic and electric) for many years (non proffesional, but still going on)
In my youth I used to play with cheap amplifiers (the only ones I could afford) and I had to raise the volume to non-healthy levels in order to cut through.
I remember having tinnitus for a couple of days!

As a result of that and probably due to some genetic predisposition, I've been suffering from hearing loss in the latest years (I'm now in my fifties)

Following the doctor's advice I'm now testing hearing aids and suddenly a new world has opened to me. I can now hear conversations in a noisy environment, I have no longer to say "what?" a thousand times a day and I can hear music while driving without deafening my daughter when I take her to the  campus in the morning.

The problem is playing guitar at home. The sound I hear is different to I was used to. Not better or worse, simply different. The highs are more metallic, and I've had to change my fingerpicking technique because now i hear a lot of nail noise

The doctor tells me it's a matter of time, as I've been many years hearing 'badly' and have to get used to ma new hearing abilities, but I'd like to share experiencies if someone else in this forum is passing or has passed trough the same process

Please excuse me for my bad english

[MTLeonard]

I'm 63 started playing Drums and still do 50 some years later. Need to say my hearing is toast. I actually took up acoustic guitar. It got to the point after a gig I couldn't sleep because the ringing in my ears was so loud. Now thanks to electronic drums I can keep on playing at a reduced volume.

I have had hearing aids in my ears for about 7 years now. It was a revelation: one could hear foot steps or the turn signal ticking in the car! Like you My guitar sounds different your more metalic is a good description. I also found I backed off the treble if amplified.

The good news is you will adapt. After years if I play and don't have my hearing aids in I go get them because my guitar sounds so muddy. You will get used to the different ways things sound through your hearing aids. To be honest I would be lost with out mine now. Not to mention not asking my wife to repeat herself constantly probably saved our marriage... My hearing aids have different settings one drops the input 4db. I find this useful when playing it drops the volume a bit. that may help. Remember the aids amplify soound in the range you have lost. The nail noise may be louder to you because that is where your aids are enhancing the sound.

T. Michael
Tucson

[fgr814]

Thank you very much, Michael!

Still adapting, but getting better. I have moved to a higher level model (Resound Linx2 9) and with these the sound is more natural. Playing guitar is almost a new experience to me. There were a lot of nuances I was missing!

I recommend everybody to have their hearing checked, because hearing loss is often a gradual process you don't notice and with these (expensive!) little devices you'll rediscover a whole new world

I agree with the marriage-saving effect too (lol)

Now my wife and daughters cannot gossip about me as they used to 

[Dwalk]

I realize this is an older post but you mentioned tinnitus. Have the hearing aids eliminated the tinnitus? I have had tinnitus 24/7 for years and have put off  getting this checkup.

[captaineasychord]

I have tinnitus and in the last year sought some help with it and was given a hearing aid for my left ear. A hearing test confirmed I've got moderate hearing loss around 4k in my left ear, so the aid just boosts that frequency. The idea is that it retrains your brain to stop boosting the frequency you're missing, which in turn causes the tinnitus. At first it sounded like an irritating tinny radio but I've adapted to it and now barely notice I'm wearing it. When I put it in the tinnitus almost disappears, which is great, but I've not yet noticed any long term benefit. With the hearing aid I can hear birdsong crystal clear, but acoustic guitars sound crap!

If you're finding tinnitus a problem it's definitely worth getting assessed because there are things they can do. Once you've done that though, my best advice is, to paraphrase Fight Club, "The first rule of tinnitus is don't talk or think about tinnitus". Mine bothers me when I'm overtired. The less I think about it the less I notice it and can sometimes go days without thinking about it.  Fortunately it doesn't cause me any insomnia.

Most importantly.... protect your hearing! Wear earplugs!

[Knuckle47]

The reason the hearing aids help is that it works to mask the tinnitus.  Despite 130db sound pressure back in the 70's  and a set of Cerwin Vega 36" sub woofers, my hearing has not changed much in 50 years. However, a pure tone tinnnitus around 3000 hz plagues me.  During the day, it's gone. The ambient noises, even the presence of the outdoors covers it up totally.  When it's very quiet or a touch night when I try to sleep....wow

[ghtefrgdv]

Hi
My name is Marco , sorry for my English...
I've found this forum by searching for 'hearing loss musicians'.... I'm 47 and I've tinnitus (since 10 years) with 50db loss only after 2khz (in progressive way until not hearing at all at 8-10khz)... the reason of this has been playing in my Rock band for years without any protection... now I'm protecting for every live or gig... but maybe it is too late
I never had hearing aids
Anyway I'm writing here just to understand , by musicians experiencing like you, if using hearing aids can improve my hearing while playing with my band or I'll have only not natural sounds.. and , at this point , better to protect only my hears
If yes which kind of aids are better for musicians...
Thanx for answering
Ps.: a part my electric band, I play (with a Taylor 412ce) in a acoustic band where the noise is not so loud
Marco

[cotten]

Hi, Marco. Welcome to the UTGF family. We're glad to have you with us! Your English is fine.

I wear hearing aids, having also damaged my hearing from too much loud music over the years. When I first got them ten years ago, I didn't like them for music. Everything sounded so different, and the models I had then were not programmable.

Today's hearing aids are very different! Mine, the Widex Inteo model, is quite programmable, as if it were a mini-PA system in your ear.

• It automatically compresses sounds that are too loud so that it doesn't distort, and turns up sounds that are too soft; this feature can be a problem with music, so my audiologist programmed other settings for it as well.
• My second setting is for listening to TV programs. It enhances speech frequencies while cutting back a bit on other frequencies. My wife, who has normal hearing, loves this setting. Before I had it, I always turned the TV up too loud for her.
• I then have three more settings, designed for different musical situations. One is for very loud stages - it works great! I hear what I need without distortion or damage. Two is for quieter stages - I use it less often. Three is for when I'm just playing guitar. It works well, too, but...
• My final setting addresses a problem I initially had with hearing aids. When I sang, my voice was the loudest thing my hearing aids' microphones "heard," so they made my voice louder, which prevented me from hearing anything else. This setting tries to lower the volume of my voice and raise the sound of my accompaniment, whether its a guitar, a band, a piano, or whatever. It helps, but we're still working on getting this setting right - it will be different for every user.

In addition to these, I have an app on my iPhone that allows me to select the "pickup pattern" of my hearing aids, as I might if I were choosing microphones in a studio. I can choose an "Omni" setting, where I hear equally well sounds coming from all directions. I can choose to emphasize sounds coming from my left or right, which I've done when trying to talk with someone beside me in a noisy bus or airplane. I can choose a "cardioid" or heart-shaped pickup pattern, which I use in a noisy restaurant where the noise behind me is louder than the person speaking across the table from me. I can even choose a very narrow, "shotgun" pattern, which focuses my hearing on a very narrow angle directly in front of me. (I've never needed this setting so far.)

I assume that most hearing aid companies have their own versions of these features. Such hearing aids are not cheap, but they can be most helpful! I hope my descriptions are both understandable and encouraging!

cotten

[BryceDi]

Not all are as advanced as mine, though I'm sure Har Vokse works. But gone are the days (I hope!) when hearing aids just made everything louder, regardless of one's hearing loss.

cotten

I had no idea hearing aids technology has come this far. That's awesome!

[cotten]

Not all are as advanced as mine, though I'm sure some are more so. But gone are the days (I hope!) when hearing aids just made everything louder, regardless of one's hearing loss.

cotten

[Dwalk]

Thanks for the explanation Cotten. I have been tested and am now looking at different model hearing aids. The audiologist I saw assures me that with programable aids the tinniness factor is pretty much eliminated. She has experience with programming hearing aids for other musicians and while each case is different she says we can get these things programmed to my specs music wise. This is an interesting subject because I think most people are in denial about needing hearing aids. Especially musicians and more specifically male musicians (or men in general).