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Hi everyone, I've read through some old threads, which were helpful, but I thought I'd ask this question more specifically. I'm probably going to get hearing aids soon. I don't think I need them for fiddling and jamming, but I'm a teacher and it's getting more difficult for me to hear my student's questions, the women in particular.
However, from what I've read here, I'm expecting that, if I get a decent pair and get them decently fitted and tuned, I'm going to find that I've been missing stuff musically too. So, for those of you who have learned through the school of hard knocks, I'm looking for advice and perhaps recommendations. Any particular styles, models, etc...anything, especially with regards to playing music. I don't even know enough to know what to ask.
Two things you should know. One, I don't care one way or the other about how they look and, two, I have good insurance right now, so money, within reason is probably not going to be a factor.
Thanks.
Hi, John,
I've worn two different styles, completely in the canal, and behind the ear (BTE). Siemens and Phonak. For use while playing, I recommend the BTE because I believe they have more "programmability." By that I mean you can have one program for conversation and another for music, and so on. I found that using a one-size-fits-all program while playing violin was way too "hot" on high frequencies and I needed to dial the whole volume down. That, and there was no means to reduce the left ear alone which is helpful with an instrument sounding right next to it.
I would look for a model where both sides communicate through Bluetooth, yet allow you to reduce volume individually, and also allow you to turn both off from either side without taking them out. Most allow you to do this with either the little controls on the aid itself or with your smartphone.
One does miss a lot of high-frequency sounds with hearing loss, especially the little skitching noises associated with poor coordination and bow technique that one could correct if heard.
I would also recommend custom-moulded earpieces to eliminate feedback and whistling.
A lot of hearing aids have blue tooth controls these days, but make sure you can make your own adjustments - that you don't have to rely on a tech in the office to do it for you. My husband's aunts (with hearing aids) saw that I could adjust the treble and bass controls on mine from my phone, and they were very impressed - said they couldn't do this without explaining the problem to someone else.
Having a bonafide "music" setting is a must, but (I think?) is not that hard to find. Mine is BTE, with the rubber dome (not custom molded), and it works great. Beltone / Amaze is what I have, though there are already updated models. Next time I will look more carefully at the rechargeable options - I suppose they are improving all the time along with everything else. Good luck to you on this - I'm sure it will benefit your music and much more.
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