hearing loss

That is a bitch. There are some companies who make hearing aides with special settings for listening to music that bypass the various filters etc that they usually use to make it easier to understand speech. That would probably be worth looking into. The other possibility of course is that you tailor your system to compensate for the deficiencies in your hearing. I have a friend who has done this, the downside being that to everyone else his system is painfully loud with very excessive treble, but apparently it sounds normal to him! There are quite a few articles kicking about on the web about this sort of thing, often suggesting headphones and graphic EQs to allow you to customize the sound and listen at high volumes without disturbing others.

But I wouldn't feel too lost, I've been told by many people that Naim's superiority to other hi-fi brands becomes more noticeable with age, as the top end hearing rolls off pace rhythm and timing become the important attributes. So long as you're not likely to suffer total hearing loss you should still be able to enjoy your system, just take out your aid and turn it up a bit louder!

i have a friend who gave away all his high-priced gear (lamm, and huge speakers, dunleavy??) - none to me!! - due to the hearing aid thing. hope you find a way to deal w/ your tinnitus. read recently that it's "psychosomatic." whatever. i sometimes have a bout.

I was referred to an ENT consultant over an ear infection. Whilst waiting I was given a hearing test. The apparent differential hearing loss in my right ear that this revealed led to a brain scan(! I kid you not). No problem with brain but differential hearing loss down to 'age' apparently. Roll on mono I say.

quote:

Originally posted by bob mccluckie:
I was referred to an ENT consultant over an ear infection. Whilst waiting I was given a hearing test. The apparent differential hearing loss in my right ear that this revealed led to a brain scan(! I kid you not).

Snap! My left ear's had annoying high-pitch tinnitus for about 18 months now, and I had an MRI scan of the ear area and the brain, and they discovered nothing wrong (so why does it still ring like a bell then?).

Apparently, my problems with hearing are minor (according to steady-tone tests) and in the bass region, and haven't been caused by excessive volume or gigging, so I'm at a loss.

I suspect it's some syndrome-related thing (got loads of genetic issues), as I've had low-level (humming) tinnitus since birth in both ears. Also, neither of my ears pops very often, so my hearing's lower in volume and bass for the 99% of the time the ears haven't popped.

BTW, my mate Ed has very bad hearing (and uses hearing aids in both ears now) due to some kind of progressive loss (and, yep, MORE tinnitus!). He can clearly hear the difference in audio quality between my Naim rig, the kitchen system, and my AV amp, so musicality isn't neccesarily affected by listening through hearing aids...

Oh - and even though his are digital jobbies, he can hear the superiority of vinyl as well

I have marked hearing loss in one ear and a little in the other. I wear a digital hearing aid. My experience is that quality hifi gear like Naim is actually more important as you get older and hearing deteriorates. OK you will not get the full benefit of Naim equipment but you will have a much better listening experience compared with inferior equipment. I manage perfectly well with a NHS digital aid. David

hey all - thanks for the input. what ever the cause of my hearing issues i suppose as long as i'm still enjoying music is a good thing ... i'll just turn it up to 11.

quote:

Originally posted by Slant6:
i'll just turn it up to 11.

My father had physical hearing loss from operating anti aircraft guns. For him the key to ease of hearing was clarity rather than volume.

quote:

Originally posted by Adam Meredith:
For him the key to ease of hearing was clarity rather than volume.

That seems to hold true in a large majority of cases of people I know with poor hearing. Enunciating clearly rather than loudly generally works better when talking to said people, for example.

I'm glad I'm not the only one. I have had a very high-pitched whistle "in my ears" for about three months now; somewhere around 10kHz? It is in both ears but worse in the left. It varies from one moment to the next and at times is unnoticeable but at other times quite distracting. My doctor says that it is tinnitus and nothing can be done about it but it is not a sign of going deaf. In fact when I asked the doctor how to deal with it she suggested "mp3"!

I prefer LP12...

RNID'S telephone hearing check - 0845 600 5555.

quote:

Originally posted by Amyntas:
I'm glad I'm not the only one. I have had a very high-pitched whistle "in my ears" for about three months now; somewhere around 10kHz? It is in both ears but worse in the left. It varies from one moment to the next and at times is unnoticeable but at other times quite distracting. My doctor says that it is tinnitus and nothing can be done about it but it is not a sign of going deaf. In fact when I asked the doctor how to deal with it she suggested "mp3"!

I prefer LP12...

I too have been experiencing tinnitus for 12 years now (after attending a gig ). the symptoms are the same as yours, sometimes barely noticeable, sometimes more distracting. I am used to it now. And this doesn't prevent me to enjoy music on my LP12/naim system... I just take the precaution to use ear plugs whenever I attend rock events!
Jean-Christophe

Had tinnitus for 12 years now (thanks David Bowie) and it's recently worsened having been trapped in the wrong place at a gig by The National.

Personally I think Adam nails it. It's clarity that's required and not loudness. I can't see me trading down any time soon.

The only thing I would say is don't worry about it too much. Be careful with your ears but don't worry about them, if you see what I mean. The more you think about tinnitus the more you notice it.

Mike

quote:

Originally posted by Mike Hughes:
Had tinnitus for 12 years now (thanks David Bowie) and it's recently worsened having been trapped in the wrong place at a gig by The National.

I had that after Pantera (my second ever gig). I was partially deaf for 3 days. WHY gigs have to be that loud is beyond me. Incidentally, I met a woman who had also been at that gig a couple of years back, and she's almost totally deaf. Self inflicted from going to the mosh pits and never wearing earplugs.

quote:

Originally posted by Mike Hughes:
Personally I think Adam nails it. It's clarity that's required and not loudness. I can't see me trading down any time soon.

It's the same with live gigs. If you have a huuuuge PA and run it at 20% it'll be loud but you won't have ringing ears (e.g. Straftford Rex on psytrance nights). If you have a small PA and run it at 120% (e.g. EQ Warehouse afterparty on same night, I went deaf in 10 minutes!

I've had mild tinnitus for as long as I can remember. It's a soft hiss in my left ear and an intermittent whine in my right. I always put it down to having been a regular concert goer back in the early 70s when sound levels were sometimes insanely high. Strangely it wasn't so noticeable with the likes of Black Sabbath and Deep Purple who were loud but sounded good. It was more often the support band who'd have a cheap PA cranked up way past acceptable levels and you could tell as it was happening that it wasn't doing the ears any good whatsoever. Ear plugs weren't an option then but now my son wouldn't go to a concert without his.

I have the whirr in one ear. I married it!!!

I also have what you could call mild tinnitus in my left ear. However, I can tell that I suffer ear loss from the left ear. This can be the result of using the phone always on the same side. It's been worst for about 4 years now when I experienced a "pop" in that ear while doing nothing special. I was what you could call depressed from this sudden ear loss then but I guess that you get used to it. I've read that the brain does adapt and compensate fro this situation to a certain degree. Of course it comes and goes. What I find helps reduce the sound is to avoid coffee, salt and you can take B12 vitamins. I do not know if it's the placebo effect but it does seem to work. Anyway, It's just a matter of perception, placebo or not... Ho yeah, I forgot to tell you that alcohol usually does the opposite effect, it amplifies the tinnitus... But I am willing to endure that for a very good glass of sauterne... And of course I can still find some improvement in my system whenever I upgrade...

Cheers!

Vince

Chaps

I am 59 and have suffered from Tinnitus for about 10 years. Some days it is bad and some days hardly noticeable.

I have noticed that recently I have been asking "what was that again" so obviously I am starting the downward slope to hearing loss.

I once had the good fortune to sit beside a chap at a social function who just happened to be a well known and highly respected hearing specialist.

He advised that although not yet clinically approved, Ginko Biloba and Vitamin B12 will almost certainly improve things. I tried it and I did find an improvement with the Tinnitus reducing in noise.

I still listen to the Hifi and to date it has not affected my enjoyment one little bit.

Regards

Mick

Mick

quote:

and have suffered from Tinnitus for about 10 years.

A perfect excuse for someone in Procurement..."sorry, I can't hear you, what are you asking for? Sorry say that again, I don't understand.."

Jim