Last week I decided to go for a hearing test at an audiologist with the intent of obtaining a fuller range of hearing. I am 42 years old and have had high frequency hearing loss since I was 14 months old which is caused by meningitis. I do music production as a hobby and was hoping to release some of my music and learn how to mix and master it myself. I have a technical background so fully understand most of the concepts about audio, latency and frequencies etc.
My hearing drops off at around 2 kHz on the right and 1.5 kHz on the left to around -80 dB. according to my chart. He says i may have dead cochlear.
Today was my first day with the HA’s (Bernafon Encanta which is apparently a rebranded Oticon Intent) and it was terrible! Went out for dinner with the family in a noisy environment and had to take them out to hear properly. I was worse withem in
My issues in no particular order:
Phasing of my own voice (possibly due to latency)
Extreme and uncomfortable resonance in the 2-3.6kHz range (tested on my uncalibrated Macbook and audio interface with headphone correction applied
No hearing above 5 kHz.
So many artefacts on the dynamic program adn even some on the music program which should be fairly neutral. Specifically for Music production, I need the response to be repeatable and not messed with
Marked difference in brightness with the music program to the point of extreme lack of bass in that program and grating high mid range
In the dynamic mode, a feeling like I am wearing normal earplugs where the HF rolloff takes away the intelligibilty of the speech but with added HF content that is extremely distracting.
Is this normal and my brain has to adjust or is this a signsof issues with model chosen or setup?
Your brain has to adjust to wearing aids, it can tje a week to months
Keep a journal and then make your audiologist your best friend and explain your issues to the audiologist.
Hearing aids are just that aids, you will not have normal hearing with hearing aids, it just isn’t possible.
Hearing aids are created to help with speech understanding only.
A little about me:
I have been wearing aids for 20 years, Oticon aids for 14 years. My hearing loss is military service related, with possibly some genetic loss too. My hearing loss started out as a cookie bite and over the years I have been losing my high frequencies. I am 77 years young and very active.
To some extent it takes some time to get use to sounds you haven’t heard for a long time or in your case maybe never.
However, hearing aids should never make your hearing worse. So it would seem that they are not adjusted correctly yet.
Musicians, vocalists, and music professionals have a harder time getting hearing aids adjusted to their satisfaction, and sometimes they are never satisfied. Widex seems to be the go to hearing aid brand for them. Many of these folks have gone the DIY route to get their aids dialed in. That may be an option for you to consider.
If you are keeping the Bernafon aids, bring a recording of the sounds that you are having issues with and show the hearing aid provider the information that you have collected so far when getting the aids adjusted. Again going the DIY route may work out the best for you. So something to consider.
There is a DIY section here, and they can can help you with that if you decide to go that route.
Thanks for the reply. I am on a trial with the Bernafon set for 2 weeks and the way the first day went, I am hesitant to wear them again. I will try them again.
I did mention to my audiologist that Widex seems to be a preferred brand but he wasn’t keen on them. I am not sure if he genuinely does not rate them or he is not affiliated.
I do understand that this may take time but any sound in that 2-3.5 kHz range seems to grate and at times be painful. I also understand that hearing aids are generally for speech and that my specific requirements are different but, Intelligibility is way worse in the standard mode. The music program is still intervening with weird artefacts and I can’t trust what I am hearing when doing mixing or mastering at this point and the disparity between the two modes is so much that I can’t be sure what would be a more natural response.
As for DIY, is my aim to get a response that is true to the “textbook” human hearing, or is it better for me to understand what I need for comfort, what I consider a natural sound and repeatable performance?
If you research this site you will find musicians favor Widex.
Finding a Widex dealer
is only half of it.
You have to find an audiologist that knows what you are talking about and it’s able to adjust the aids to your liking.
The odds are that the original audiologist put you in Bernafon because that is what the audiologist is most familiar with.
That’s what they do as a general rule.
Sharing your audiogram would help us help you.
You mentioned your upper frequencies having issues for most of your life. Pending on the loss it could play a huge part on how you accept hearing aids now.
Thanks and welcome to the forum.
Did you get your word understanding scores. I ask because that’s a severe/profound high frequency hearing loss.
This is your first set of hearing aids, correct? If so you can plan on some time to acclimate, maybe months. That time to acclimate might be detrimental as far as the hearing aid trial period.
Costco might be a great place to start due to their 6 month return policy. This would enable you to acclimate during the trial.
I have never completely gotten rid of the weird artifacts in my Oticons. Turning off speech rescue helps, but then you lose some of the speech distinction.
I also have the severe high frequency loss.
I find in normal settings without noise Phonak is best. But Oticon really picks out the speech in noise. But I’ve spent months tweaking them. Some days I get sick of the artifacts and just wear Phonaks.
Widex didn’t work for me. Even with tight fitting custom molds the feedback was terrible. Too much gain in HF for my loss. (Your gain is similar)
Somehow you need to find an audiologist that will give a much longer trial period. 2 weeks is out of line for a trial period. Do you have other audiologist choices?
Where are you located? We have members in Australia that might be able to help you.
Don’t get hooked into buying aids until you get fit properly and used to the aids.
Your audiogram is very similar to mine and I am an audiophile. I have been using Widex for 8 years and currently have SmartRIC 440’s. I have tried others along my journey but in my case they came up short. There are several key aspects to using them. First as others have said finding an audiologist familiar with Widex (if that is what you decide on) and one who is willing to work with you. My audiologist is fantastic and it was pure luck that I found her. Second I researched settings and how they affect the sound I would hear (this forum is a good resource). Working together we eventually came up with a dedicated music program. Third is I accepted the fact that aids are just that, they are aids. I would never have perfect hearing again. Fourth having said that I decided that music was what I wanted most so that is what drove my quest. Music is most important to me and hearing ever single word from someone in a crowded noisy setting will never be perfect. I am 71 years old and 50 years of newspaper printing presses is what caused my loss. Good luck on your quest don’t give up. It requires time, patience, and work on your part.
Your primary goal is to be able to wear them. Hearing aids do you no good if you don’t wear them. So you need to get to the point where you can wear the hearing aids.
Again your settings don’t have to be exactly what the software says you need, just helpful and wearable. In my case, I adjusted my Philips 9040 hearing aids to be below the target levels the software says I need at certain frequencies and loudness inputs.
Adjusting hearing aids can take a lot of time; know how; and communication skills, both HCP and the person wearing the hearing aid. That’s why folks keep saying the person who adjusts your hearing aid can make all the difference. That’s also why folks go the DIY route.
I use what Philips calls an open bass dome. The feedback managers of three different hearing aid manufactures that I’ve used have worked well enough that I’ve never had to go with a closed fitting. I am giving up some Bluetooth usability, but I find an open dome worth it.
Thanks for the input! I have found another Audiologist that specifically mentions my outcomes which are use for music recording/production and they do Widex.
I may give them a call and see what they say. Considering that most people would never know I have a hearing loss becuase I deal with noise environments very well for my actual hearing spectrum, I feel that speech is a secondary objective for me and I generally lip read
I tried Intents and it sounded to me like there was a level of 3rd order Harmonc distortion in those upper frequencies that I couldn’t tolerate. As you can imagine, it was a short trial.
Everyone saying to give it time, you need to adjust, aren’t wrong within the context, and it’s a sensible thing to do. At the start there’s the initial fitting and a few sessions of fine-tuning to get them as you like them. Still, based on what you describe, I wouldn’t rule out an off test (though that is rare) or, more likely, and not so great initial fitting.
But the fact remains, what your hearing is your preference and what works for you. I can appreciate your frustration at the situation you describe. I do some composing, luthier, and attend a lot of live acoustic performances… so quality of the sound is important too. Based on your needs, you owe it to yourself to try Widex.
Yeah, I tried the Bernafons again (Intent rebranded) and there is a constant white noise sound and it reacts so dramatically and resonance is unbearable. I will push my audi to try the Widex
Make sure to find out how experienced your audiologist is with Widex.
I suspect you can go to the Widex web site and find a list of audiologist who handle Widex in your area.
Even then how experienced are they with your problem.
