Could I get some advice please, Audiogram uploaded. (musician)

Hearing Loss
#54

I seem to think some jurisdictions might allow non-members to acquire medical things. Not sure. You could also just let it lapse after. Inquire again if they will do any adjustments without membership too.

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#55

KS9 do not have tinnitus feature. I’ve heard that KS10 does have it, but have heard no solid confirmation.

#56

As Z10 mentioned, the KS9 (and KS10) are not locked. Neither are Costco’s Phonak or Rexton hearing aids. However, their Resound and Phillips hearing aids are locked.

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#57

I wonder if I could just buy them and have them posted, and go and see a private audiologist down here, I had surgery a week ago hence why I am off work at the moment. I know he deals with Phonak so maybe that could be an option etc.

#58

I am being really cheeky now, have just emailed them and asked if I can just pay for the membership and the hearing aids without seeing there audiologist etc, lets see what they say lol.

Probably taking the piss a bit too much though :slight_smile:

#59

I would highly doubt an independent fitter would want to work with the Costco aids. Even though they’re still just Phonaks.
You’re also paying for all the future service in that price at Costco. As you do with other independents.
The fact that you have public health that covers aids I would stick with that.

#61

Sorry do you mean not buy them and get the free NHS ones?

#62

The local fitter will want to be paid to do the a la carte service. You already pay that when buying from Costco. So you end up kinda paying twice. It’s also why an independent is so expensive, because they want to be compensated for your future needs that they include in that up-front cost.
Yes I would suggest getting the “free” ones. Why not? They’re available to you. You’ve paid for them in your taxes over all these years. In Canada, each province does their own deal. Some are a small amount. Some are only for seniors. iirc one will cover it all.

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#63

thanks for your input buddy, I can see your point totally, but just something to consider is the money I would spend on a 3-4 round trip getting to the nearest eligible Costco would probably about the same as using a local independent audiologist, It just gives me another option to think about at the moment, if the NHS ones aren’t that helpful, I should probably give them a try and then decide to be fair, and not be so impatient lol.

Thanks Christian

#65

Oddly enough I have been looking around the site for that very topic, it’s still a lot of money even at the very low price from Cost Co etc, but bang for buck I guess it’s a lot better than what I would get elsewhere. Can’t seem to find a lot of info on the Danalogic Ambio, so comparisons are different etc.

I have a lot of thinking to do, I have asked Costco if they would sell me them without having to drive to Southampton which is pretty far from Plymouth etc, so I shall wait their response and see how I get on.

I have messaged my local independent audiologist just to see what he thinks about the idea hypothetically etc :slight_smile: @Zebras

#66

Might be an idea to go with the Phillips equivalent in Costco of the new More.

Apparently the More’s are the mutts nutz for music. One of our recent fittings can hear the tonal difference between her two guitars when playing the same piece of music.

Resound stuff is sometimes worth a look for the App/Connectivity too.

Not Phonak or it’s derivatives unless it’s sitting properly in the music program as the basic/auto sense programming uses slight frequency shifting to minimise feedback.

Not sure about Signia/Widex as we don’t sell them.

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#67

Downside of either Phillips or Resound at Costco is that they are locked to Costco. Nice hearing that Bernafon’s rep for music carries on with Phillips (and sounds like it’s exceeded)

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#68

I am also a musician, it is why I first came to this board and music was the subject of all my first posts. You are getting good advice here and I agree with most of it. Someday things may get better but for now I continue to say - Hearing aids for speech and improving your quality of life, for music - headphones and studio monitors.

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#69

Thanks for replying mate, unless I am missing something I believe there is only one option in UK Cost-Co well only one that loaded on their website anyway.

Thanks very much for the advice though, much appreciated :slight_smile:

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#70

Thanks buddy, a few others have said the same thing, I have definitely taken it on board.

Thanks for your reply, it’s appreciated :slight_smile:

#71

please tell me which manufacturer’s headphones do you use? thanks in advance

#72

I think one of the joys of poetry is the creation of something beautiful within a set of restrictions. If you are writing a sonnet for example, not only are you restricted to a particular format but as you make choices the restrictions become greater because now you have to match your next lines to your first lines. If one is a fan of comics (or graphic novels), there’s also an art in how you draw within the box–the restrictions. All this is to say that while hearing loss restricts one’s experience of music, I believe there is still lots of beautiful, interesting, clever music to be made within those new restrictions. It is also most likely the case that any famous musician who started out in a time when hearing protection was not the norm in the music industry will have been creating their later work through the filter of their hearing loss, so while hearing loss changes things you may also be sharing an experience with the artists you love. I don’t know, I’m not saying grief for a capability that was lost isn’t appropriate. It certainly is. Just. . . art goes on.

On a more practical note, wax build-up will aggravate feedback in hearing aids. If you have small canals and chronic wax problems, you may need to prepare yourself to see your provider for regular wax removal in order to keep your hearing aids functioning optimally.

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#73

A very positive way of looking at it, thank you for taking the time to post this :slight_smile:

I’ll never stop making music, I love it too much, as for the mixing side of things, I can carry on having fun and anything that is commercially released, I can get someone else to mix it.

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#74

I have used Sennheiser for years, also Sony pro line. There are a lot of good ones. I do not like the sound of Bose but the noise cancelation is good for noisy flights.

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#75

Few audis are used to dealing with the specialized needs of musicians. Hearing aids and audis are focused on speech comprehension.

If you have not already bought hearing aids or if you are considering buying new ones, ask your audi to contact the manufacturers of the hearing aid models that you are considering in order to find out the “input headroom” (There may be a more technical term for this). The idea here is that if your hearing aid has insufficient ability to accept the loud signal produced by live music your hearing aid will clip (distort) the signal right when it enters the hearing aid. The hearing aid will then send a clipped signal to the signal processing phase of the hearing aid and then out into your ear. Obviously not good.

Widex and Oticon are known for high input headroom. Phonak used to (and maybe still does) have significantly lower input headroom. Input headroom is not something most audis are used to being concerned about. But in my opinion it is absolutely crucial to a musician.

Have your audi set up a separate program for music performance (it will probably work well for music listening, too). For this separate music program, in the programming software have the audi turn off all compression and speech comprehension enhancements.

Also have your audi reduce the feedback suppression settings to as low as possible without the hearing aids producing feedback in a normal situation. Feedback suppression works by the hearing aid detecting a sustained note and then introducing a frequency modulation that interrupts that sustained note. The hearing aid can’t distinguish between feedback and a sustained musical note. So the feedback suppression causes a “trill” or “warble” that is especially disconcerting to a singer. With the feedback suppression minimized you might experience feedback when someone hugs you or gets close to your ear. If you experience feedback too often, ask your audi to increase the feedback suppression settings incrementally until you have the right balance between eliminating the “trill” effect and eliminating occurrences of feedback.

Lastly, do a web search for “Marshall Chasin”. He is an audi in Toronto who specializes in fitting hearing aids for musicians. He has some helpful articles online and in audiological trade magazines. Good luck!

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