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[guy007]

     I'm 87 and I thought that my days of listening to classical music (which I've done most of my life) were coming to an end as the higher frequencies became harder and harder to hear and music became a rather lifeless and dull thing.
     Recently I was advised to try a set of new hearing aids which can "restore the highs" and I did. After very patient fitting and adjusting by an excellent doctor of audiology (and $6000) I was fitted with hearing aids which did a fairly good job of restoring something approaching a real concert hall. Life in a condo means headphones and a set of Sennheiser 800's worked nicely. Recently I splurged for the new Audeze 3s (easily the best headphones I have ever used), but they are big and heavy and inevitably pressed in on the hearing aids something fierce. After about thirty minutes I had to remove the headphones and was very reluctantly planning to return them when that wonderful "moment of enlightenment) hit.
     Question: why can expensive hearing aids help me hear higher frequencies? Answer: because they accentuate the higher frequencies much like an equalizer. But, of course, Media Center has one graphics and two (count em) parametric equalizers. If hearing aids can accentuate the highs, so can Media Center.  Off with the hearing aids, back to the Audeze, a great deal of experimentation (including learning to use a parametric equalizer--sort of) and my first pretty awful results have become a balanced response, much better than the hearing aids could achieve (no feedback problems, no little shrill whistles). The music would be pretty awful for someone with normal hearing, but for me it is a dream come true. Switching the equalizer on and off makes it very clear what a tremendous difference it makes. My days of pretending I'm sitting in Carnegie Hall again are not over.
     So hearing loss may not mean that the enjoyment of music is gone. And you don't need a megabuck set of hearing aids. Media Center will do the job just fine. Thanks. Guy

[JimH]

Nice story.  Thank you.

[fitbrit]

Thanks for sharing that great story.

[mojave]

Thanks for sharing.

My dad has hearing aids and uses JRiver. I've been trying for about a year to have him get me a graph or something showing his hearing loss, but I haven't been successful. I hope to EQ the L and R channel separately based on his hearing test for each ear. He already has headphones so he is good to go in that regard.

Two of my coworkers that bought JRiver also have hearing aids (but don't always use them  ). They live alone and use speakers. I've offered to EQ their system based on their hearing loss, too. They prefer it as it is and just turn up the volume. 

[AUser]

Just for info
I have tinnitus but like audiobooks - unfortunately, some voices hit the frequency bands I can no longer hear
The pitch shift section of the dsp can turn a reading from a practically unhearable Charli Brown teachers voice (no matter how loud) to perfectly understandable
So, thanks for that feature

[Grim Reaper]

Just for info
I have tinnitus but like audiobooks - unfortunately, some voices hit the frequency bands I can no longer hear
The pitch shift section of the dsp can turn a reading from a practically unhearable Charli Brown teachers voice (no matter how loud) to perfectly understandable
So, thanks for that feature

I empathize with you regarding your tinnitus affliction.  I had it on and off for quite a few years.  Sometimes it was a sound like a tuning fork at a specific frequency only and other times a hissing sound like steam escaping from a radiator.  It was especially unbearable at night when I wanted to go to sleep.  I don't know what causes it and doctors and audiologists don't either.  After a few years it disappeared but came back sporadically until a few years ago.  I don't know why it stopped but it sometimes begins and it causes me to panic but it fades away in a few minutes.  Hopefully, your tinnitus will disappear too.

[guy007]

Hi. Thanks for your very helpful comments. Yes, of course, hearing aids are much more than an EQ. However apparently all are oriented toward clarity of speech with little interest in music. Feedback on the web is that the old analog hearing aids worked well with music but are now long gone. I had to have the compressor turned off on the music mode of my aids. Just as the great soprano was reaching toward that high C, suddenly someone turned the volume way down, for a less than thrilling climax. I found the VST compressor plugins work much better; tried a number, and have been using Blockfish for some time-easy to adjust and doesn't mangle the music (if one tweaks sufficiently). I run one parametric EQ and then the Blockfish. I avoid the Headphone mixer (started I think by Headroom). Interesting idea, but to me it just muddies up the music. The incredible flexibility of MC continues to amaze me. As does the knowledge of members of this board.

[Matt]

Thanks for the really nice post.

How do they measure your hearing to build a frequency graph for the hearing aid?  Do you play tones at different frequencies and find the quietest tone you can hear?  I wonder if a 'hearing correction' feature that measures your hearing then does adjustments based on the results would be interesting?

[Frobozz]

Thanks for the really nice post.

How do they measure your hearing to build a frequency graph for the hearing aid?  Do you play tones at different frequencies and find the quietest tone you can hear?  I wonder if a 'hearing correction' feature that measures your hearing then does adjustments based on the results would be interesting?

There are some threads and tutorials on Head-Fi on how to equalize headphones to compensate for your own hearing.  Could be interesting.  I've not yet actually tried making that sort of EQ for my own hearing.  I wonder how it would turn out and how it would sound?

[AoXoMoXoA]

I wonder if a 'hearing correction' feature that measures your hearing then does adjustments based on the results would be interesting?

Wow Matt, that would be an awesome feature!

[JimH]

I split the discussion on VST and Headphones:
http://yabb.jriver.com/interact/index.php?topic=80841.0