Thread: Hearing issues

Well I got an ear and hearing test and as expected there was a sharp drop-off in ability to hear high frequencies - above 2-3 khz. That means I miss consonants at the beginning and end of words when people are speaking and it's hard to distinguish a voice from background noise.

The test also found 'spurs' growing in one ear canal which is common among folk who've done a lot of swimming in cold water. They can grow to the point of blocking the ear but can be ground down in surgery.

I recall my father complained a lot about how poorly his hearing aids worked and I was in no rush to repeat that experience. But it's got to the point that I can no longer function properly in my part-time teaching role.

So I bit the bullet and bought a pair of 64 channel aids that were programmed to boost high frequencies while keeping a cap on total volume.

The difference is huge.

An analogy is standing in a room with a 100w globe and then someone switches on a few 500w floodlights.

I can hear leaves rustling in the wind; the car has developed a whole new bunch of rattles; my runners now squeak on the polished floorboards and the missus has developed ssssibilant s's when she speaks. I don't have to strain to hear people when they talk and don't feel the need to keep conversations short to avoid the expected mishearings.

The aids weigh next to nothing and the in-ear speaker has no irritating effect. There's no feedback squeal. Adjusting the volume and changing a preset program are very easy to do.

In fact the soundscape feels too bright but I'll give it a week. Then consider buying the kit that works like a graphic equaliser to program a preset (one of four, not five). One preset from the factory is for the telecoil for induction loops in public places.

Costs were:
$150 - ear and hearing checks
$3400 - 64 channel aids (with a bunch of consumables); bought at the audiologist with a bit of custom fitting
$275 - if necessary, the kit to customise a program

You can buy the aids online with the customising kit ('IHearYou') and roll your own by trial and error. Looks very easy.

Hearing Aids | Blamey Saunders Hearing Aids Online with IHearYou - no connection other than as a customer.

Update: it's now been several weeks and apparently that's needed. They were giving me the irrits.

There was hiss in the right ear but the supplier advised this could be caused by wax in the ear. I've been treating that with ear wax dissolver and it's dropped substantially. If it continues to be audible and an irritant they'll recalibrate it.

They can also install a 'wind' program (no, sorry, won't stop the missus hearing your farts ) which varies the balance btwn directional and ambient pickup.

These changes will be done for nix.

I no longer think I need the customising kit. The brain has adjusted.

The missus is very happy with them. Conversations are much easier. And if she's happy I'm happy.

Update:

I got the supplier to recalibrate the aids as I wasn't happy with them, and they charged all of $50 to do it in real time and that included installing the 'wind' program.

So it's now some time down the track and during that time, wearing the aids only when I thought they'd be necessary, I've become increasingly dissatisfied with the result. B&S says that hearing is subjective and changes over time.

So I got the programming kit to do my own tweaks and it's shmick. IHearYou program your hearing aids | Blamey Saunders hears self-fit hearing aids

Disclosure: no financial interest. Wish I did.

I would be hard for someone else to do this programming for you I believe, because they cannot possibly know what, your hearing sounds like (if that makes sense) because they are only guessing.

To me, it would be like me trying to set up bass and treble on your sound system for how you like it but not hearing anything on my side of things.


Foo

A hearing test involves sounds of various types and pitches, with and without background noise, being played to you and you indicate to the operator when/if you hear one.

The results are plotted on an audiogram that shows how a hearing aid should be programmed to boost the frequencies you're missing (and in some cases change the directionality of the inbuilt mike).

The IHearYou software does a cut-down version of that. You listen to four pitches and adjust them for equal volume. It also allows you to install some special programs (wind, music, background).