Philips *50 series - any musicians had success with these?

Hearing Aids
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I’m currently trialling Philips 5050 (well, the audiologist added some 9050 programs too so I could try them) - as a musician I’m finding them hopeless. Nothing about music played by me or anyone else (my daughter is a wonderful violinist) sounds anything like good. I’d go so far as to say everything sounds awful - not just poor quality but also out of tune when I know that it isn’t. I’ve tried the HiHi music program as well as the normal speech programs, nothing helps. The audiologist is very keen on these but I’m reaching the point where I feel I should try another brand. Has any musician here had success with the Philips?

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Here’s a link for musicians. https://musicandhearingaids.org/

Some also program their own hearing aids.There is a DIY section here on this website that you can go to for assistance.

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Thanks - I’ll certainly have a read of those resources. But I know different hearing aids cope better or worse as a live musician, so I’m keen to hear from other users of the same device to know if I might be going down the right path :slight_smile:

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I am not a musician but a critical listener - retired after a life in Pro music. Here is what I have done for DIRECT music listening. Bluetooth is not really suitable for critical listening imho.

Tell your audiologist to duplicate the HiFi program. Then make these changes:

fit-music
fit-music879×679 74.2 KB

I also found the 9050s a little forward sounding so I reduced the gain from 2.5kHz to 8kHz by 2 dB. Then I reduced the CR (compression ratio) to 1:1 for all of the 80dB-65dB gain settings by upping the 80dB setting. Finally – and this is the one that may prove problematic – switch the feedback to off.

All of these changes make small differences but the sum total of them is keeping me happy . . . for now . . . :wink:

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Thanks! I appreciate that and will take those suggestions to the audiologist next time.

1 Like
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Bear in mind that those are settings that work for me. Pinna focusses on sound coming from the front which is great for my monitor listening. But for an instrument, you are counting on some influence from the room - natural reverb. You might want to experiment with Omni Directional versus Pinna in the Pinna Mode setting to find which you prefer. Good luck!