Maybe some interest to the Forum

Posted by Bold Eagle (A) on March 11, 2019 at 19:49:33

I just made a big improvement to my system. No, really, I'm hearing all sorts of stuff I hadn't heard before.
So what is my secret? Hearing aids! I'll be 81 this week, and noticed I was asking people to repeat things in meetings. So when my wife went to her audiologist, I tagged along, and asked if they had time to check my hearing. Sure enough, I had noticeable roll off above 1 kHz. They fitted me with a pair of aids.
First thing I did when I got home was to play some stuff I knew well. Much better!

I went back to get my new hearing aids a week after the tests. In the meantime, I had looked up the curves of hearing sensitivity versus frequency for an average normal human at around 70-80 dB. When I got to the audiologist, I asked to see the curves programmed into my new hearing aids. (They have 20 bands that can be individually set, like a graphic EQ) I was so pleased to see that the programmed frequency response is the normal curve plus the losses from the loss curve. The result is a very natural sound with a broader frequency range than my aged ears have. I also picked up about 3 dB overall sensitivity.

So what do I hear now? A good example if Dire Straits album Communique. The last cut is Follow Me Home, and starts with waves lapping on the shore. And when the water flows back off the beach, there is a lot of subtle high frequency content. I can hear that again. The last time I heard it clearly was 25 years ago when I had the LP. I had thought the CD version lacked it. Guess what? It's on the CD.

The other thing I've noticed with the hearing aids is that imaging is better. Instruments are more precisely located and a better sense of depth.

One other feature is that these hearing aids don't have interchangeable batteries. Li ion cells are built in and charge overnight by induction in the charger. The charger also has a built in battery pack, so if the power goes out, it stores enough to give 3 recharges for the pair of aids.

All this caused me to try taking my modded hybrid Advents off their 15" stands and putting them on some 4" risers with a 6 degree tilt back. That puts the New Advent tweeters very close to the same acoustical plane as the SEAS A26 RE4 woofers I am using. That fortified the bass a bit and gave an increase in clarity.

Jerry

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Topic - Maybe some interest to the Forum - Bold Eagle 19:49:33 03/11/19 (25)

RE: Maybe some interest to the Forum - Oface 16:42:29 03/15/19 (0)

RE: Maybe some interest -- I Wish Some Manufacturer . . . - goldenthal 16:03:07 03/15/19 (2)

RE: Maybe some interest -- I Wish Some Manufacturer . . . - Triode_Kingdom 09:04:06 03/16/19 (1)

RE: Maybe some interest -- I Wish Some Manufacturer . . . - goldenthal 10:26:00 03/16/19 (0)

The MOST IMPORTANT thing, often neglected besides cleaning - Story 02:02:32 03/15/19 (2)

RE: The MOST IMPORTANT thing, often neglected besides cleaning - Bold Eagle 07:29:44 03/15/19 (1)

RE: The MOST IMPORTANT thing, often neglected besides cleaning - Fitero 08:20:29 04/12/19 (0)

They are the most important component... - EdAInWestOC 05:22:05 03/14/19 (2)

+1 - Oface 16:18:10 03/15/19 (0)

RE: They are the most important component... - Bold Eagle 09:46:33 03/14/19 (0)

Congratulations - how's the technology and cost lately? - caffeinator 21:40:56 03/13/19 (7)

RE: Congratulations - how's the technology and cost lately? - Bold Eagle 09:33:27 03/14/19 (6)

Agree 100% - Dave Pogue 05:50:42 03/15/19 (5)

Mapping - Triode_Kingdom 23:29:53 03/16/19 (4)

Honestly, I haven't a clue. - Dave Pogue 05:38:07 03/17/19 (3)

RE: Honestly, I haven't a clue. - Triode_Kingdom 11:14:30 03/17/19 (2)

Yep, that's what happened - Dave Pogue 13:31:55 03/17/19 (1)

RE: Yep, that's what happened - Triode_Kingdom 20:01:16 03/17/19 (0)

No shame in aids! - M3 lover 16:47:48 03/12/19 (0)

Sweet! - Mossback 15:47:37 03/12/19 (0)

RE: Maybe some interest to the Forum - fstein 12:40:37 03/12/19 (0)

It's in the cards for all of us - airtime 07:55:46 03/12/19 (1)

RE: It's in the cards for all of us - digepix 09:50:16 03/12/19 (0)

Hearing aids saved the day for me too. - Dave Pogue 06:48:13 03/12/19 (1)

RE: Hearing aids saved the day for me too. - Bold Eagle 07:52:29 03/12/19 (0)

Maybe some interest to the Forum

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