To me, musicians and hearing aids should not go together but I have come to realize that aids could help make life a whole lot easier. As a musician, I want a very natural sound across the full frequency band. After many audi tests (years of figuring that I could do without) I started researching the possibility. Each year the audi would suggest that I try some aids. This summer, I got my education on brands and models as best I could. This friday, I will be trying for the first time aids to hear how much of a difference they will make. My trial will be with the Bernafon Verite 9ās. They have a Live Music Plus Program that sounds like it could fit the bill for me. Essentially, they allow a greater dynamic range before compression takes place. Are there any other musicians out there wearing these that could give me a perspective of how aids work with music? Thanks.
There is a testimonial from Bob Martin, a muscian, producer, and recording engineer on America Hears website. There seems to be a web site where you might be able to contact him. The link to the testimonial is below. America Hears has 2 pre-programmed situations for music you can use in their 3 user-defined aid programs. They are music and music with comfort off. America Hears also comes with the hardware and software so you can program the aids yourself. I would think the ability to adjust/program the aids yourself might be important to a muscian. Good luck in yor search.
http://www.americahears.com/T/TESTMain.shtml
I am a recreational guitar player and I have found that most of the high end hearing aids do extremely well with music. The trick is to pick a hearing aid that has multiple programs slots available so that you can get your audiologist to use one of them for a program that is dedicated exclusively for music. When you program a slot for music you are typically turning off all noise reduction, compression, etc.
The other trick is to try and get a hearing aid with an open fitting if you plan on singing while playing. The occlusion you get with CICs and other closed ear mold fittings will drive you crazy when you try to sing and play at the same time. Other things to consider are multiple mics for directionality, wireless connection capabilities for listening to iPods and/or music systems.
Right now I am testing both the Phonak Audeo Smart IX and the Resound Alera 61 and they both do amazing with music.
Jordan.
my honest opinion is to avoid digitals like the plague! my owm experience is to buy the best analogues you can buy. no sound processing or modes. just the sound as is. i trialled all the different digitals even the top of the range and honestly none of them even come close to the set of starkey genesis dx which i picked in the end due to natural sound and no sound processing!!! i have found once the hearing aids take over from the brain when it comes to processing thats when the problems begin!! another plus point i could buy two sets of analogues for less than one set of digitals!!! for me digital is not an improvement, people seem to forget you need the complete sine wave in order for the brain to process correctly not the compressed and cut down digital version!!!
for people who have worn digitals with no probs i would suggest that possibly they havenāt heard a well set up set of analogues!! the sound quality difference is night and day!! also because no processing takes place there are no lagging issues.
Sorry for such a long winded post its just i have been wearing has for many years and feel that inferior digitals are being pushed although they arenāt best for everyone, higher profit margins maybes?
I am a volunteer sound tech at my church. I am using Phonak Nadias and I think they sound great. However running sound has always been complete āBy the grace of Godā thing for me.
The America Hears music programs did not work well for me. I just modified the standard hearing program by lowering gain in the upper frequencies. I then saved it as my custom hearing program.
Itās time consuming to get it right. It could take an hour or two - but itās worth it.
You could also make a total of 3 custom music programs for different musical situations . Nice thing about self programming is that you can adjust the aids while listening to or playing the music and hear the effects in real time.
Iām not a professional musician. However,I do play guitar and drums and build and repair guitar amplifiers and effects pedals.
Don
Thanks for the great suggestions.
I am certainly looking for a natural sound. During the day, I work as a band teacher. I will know quickly if my flute section sounds all digitally altered. Depending on the day ā¦ that could be a good thing! Fortunately, the Verite 9 does have 4 program slots, so I can get them set for specific situations. The America Hears option sounds fascinating because it says you can tweak them on your own, but I am in Canada. My audi is willing to work with me to get programs that work but in the end, it is how natural it sounds is what will count for me.
Like matfam, I also am a sound tech at church. I believe I come up with a great mix especially when I get enough volume but it will be interesting to hear what it really sounds like. This will be my first ever try with aids, so I am very interested in hearing what I have been missing and compensating for during all this time before I was willing to give aids a try.
As far as analog aids go, I went to 3 suppliers and was not even shown them as a option. I get fitted this friday so we will see how it goes. I am very open to hearing from others what has worked for them.
I have an Phonak Audeo Smart V for my right ear only. Frankly, I think music is a mess with these aids. My audiologist didnāt even test below 250 Hz which is middle C. Iām quite sure that I have more severe loss in the lower frequencies (as well as the highs) so that the bass section is completely lost. I get some lingering atifacts at certain musical pitches which may be noise filtering or feedback suppression? Fortunately the hearing in my left ear is still good enough for music including the low notes. I really just use the right ear aid for speech comprehension only in certain situations.
In the end itās how well your audi understands your descriptions of the problems and your descriptions of what you are and are not hearing. I found the communication between the audi and my mom was a big problem. For example what she described as āhollow soundingā wasnāt the audiās definition of āhollow soundingā. The beauty of self-programming is real time programming and testing in your enviroment, no middle-man (audi or fitter) to set adjustments based on their understanding of your descriptions, and the ability to change settings without appointments. In your situation where the sound of music is so critical, I would find an audi who would supply you the software and sell you the hardware necessary to adjust the aids yourself or give you access to his adjusting set-up after hours so you can adjust the aids with your muscical instruments, etc.
Iāve never asked America Hears if they sell in Canada, but they might.
WkRoseā¦ If youāre not hearing the 250 range then go back to the audiologist. The Smart V goes down to 125. So this range may need to assistance. What is the hearing loss in the other ear? Write your audiogram here to review.
Also - have your audi create a specific program for musicā¦ There are 4 programs available. Like previously posted the music program turns off conpression and other features to allow a fuller, richer sound. They can also boost the low ranges for you in the music program (or others).
+1 on this advice. Who knows, maybe the OP will get an Audi who is HOH and is an active musician?
There is also another company in the US, besides America Hears, that sells self-fitting aids. I canāt remember their name but have read very favorable reviews on them. Just use any search engine to bring them up.
Edit: I found it www.hearsource.com
Don
Here is my audiogram - the audiologist extrapolated the same value at 125 as it was in 250 after I complained about lack of bass. Iām sure it is much worse.
NINE YEAR thread necro. That has to be a record. 
It doesnāt look like bigbeck came over from the old forum either.
Wow. Nine years after starting this thread. I am now hoping to try KS 9 when they arrive in Canada in the fall. So many advancements in nearly a decade.
I am a musician with hearing aids.
Iāve always protected myself with audiologist fitted Etymotic or Westone ear filters. Nothing over 85dba enters my ears. But a 3 times misdiagnosed extreme allergic reaction to what ended up being dust mites left me with damaged ears.
I use Oticon OPM with closed domes. The audiologist set them up for full frequency.
The problem is now without the hearing aids, and the ear plugs I cannot understand what audience members are saying.
So I try to keep volume levels under 85 on stage, and use the āconnect clipā to discretely turn the volume down during the songs. If there is audience talk between songs, I can turn them back up again.
Itās not the best solution, but one I can live with.
Itās ironic that the guy in the band who always wore ear plugs is the guy who ended up with hearing damage. Oh well, life goes on. The 3 legged dog still runs, and I still gig.
Bob
I hope others are still reading this site. I have a situation similar to BobbyBoomer. For years, I wore Westone musician hearing protectors when I performed. But my hearing has gotten enough worse that I wear hearing aids (open style) now, and actually hear music better with the hearing aids. However, they offer no protection against overly loud sounds, including music. An example nightmare situation is leading rehearsal of a student ensemble in a classroom: it is so loud that Iām concerned it will cause further damage to my hearing, so I put in the Westones; the ensemble stops for a moment to discuss an issue, but I canāt hear a thing, so I fast and furiously change to the hearing aids - then they start playing and I change to the Westones again ā¦ Of course this changing back and forth would be nearly impossible during a live performance, when I want to be able to hear audinece members, hear the band well, but not get my ears fried by the volume of the music.
If you all are familiar with within-ear monitors for musicians, they can block out excessive volume sound. My dream is to have something like these that 1) does frequency adjustment that corrects for my hearing loss, so I can hear music well 2) protects me by blocking out (attenuating) any sound above a certain volume; 3) lets me normally hear everything around me, including audience members and conversations (thus, they would need to have some sort of microphone system, as well as the frequency adjustment).
Does anyone know of any product that does what Iāve described?
Any hearing aid can do this, its the basis for hearing, youāll want to go down the DIY path to get the best results for you particular use, plenty of people from right here on the forums that can help with software and programming, just use the search tool from right here on hearingtracker.
Thanks for your reply! My open-style hearing aids definitely wonāt do this. Although I described this all to my audiologist, the audiologist felt that open rather than closed hearing aids would be a better solution for me. Tenkan, are you saying that you believe regular closed-style hearing aids would adequately attenuate sound from a loud live band situation and, with DIY programming to address issues with music, would sufficiently address the issues I described? If so, Iām surprised and curious why my audiologist recommended against themā¦
p.s. - Iāve also noticed that older musicians with hearing loss, such as Herbie Hancock and Quincy Jones, all seem to wear open-style hearing aids. Perhaps they do nothing to protect themselves from loud sounds onstage? Iām not sure ā¦