My first 2 audiologists told me that the streaming sound (music) that is output by hearing aids is strictly in the frequency range that is boosted for speech intelligibility (e.g., since my loss is in high frequencies, the sound when streaming would only be in the corrected range…above 3-4 khz). I haven’t found posts that address this question directly, and posts generically about streaming music all seem based on the opposite possibility, that the streaming music is full frequency range. Which is it?
Full range can be adjusted in Target - Phonak software. And of course, the corrected range would vary per user. I have recently finished fine tuning my aids for listening to live music / recorded music over speakers. My next plan is to see if I can get more / warmer bass in the streaming program. I guess there are limits to what bass the aids can / should amplify in streaming.
Welcome to the community. I also was disappointed in the sound of streaming music through my hearing aids. I started my hearing aid journey in December 2024. I thought that my Jabra Enhanced Pro 20s, or now 30s would stream music perfectly. I am still disappointed but I don’t care. I can play around with the music app, adjusting treble, midrange, and bass, but in the end I’ve concluded that my prescription hearing aids are designed to correct human speech rather than sound like Apple AirPods. Some folks have had good luck with over the ear wireless headphones worn over their hearing aids.
Just remember your not gonna get the balanced armature receiver’s on your HAs to sound like your headphones, this is where the limiting factor is, next generation xMEMS type receiver’s is what’s needed.
1 Like
Agreed.
I would never try to stream music over my Jabra Pro 30’s. They are not designed or optimized for this.
To stream music I would always use my Airpod Pro 2’s (with hearing assistance enabled and using my Costco audiogram). That sounds great!
There’s a balancing act going on, too, between open fitting to prevent occlusion in those with reasonable low freq hearing, and getting the bass response you want. One driver, open fitting in most patients, there’s a limit to what an engineer can do.
WH
The same thing happens to me. Streaming music sounds terrible, with no bass.
It’s clear they’re set to prioritize speech, which is why they sound so bad, as if all the songs were a cappella.
Is audio music (through the air, not streaming) in a music program also lousy? This marks the difference between heard through the vents and not. Vents make a difference. You lose a lot of bass streamed. But you should hear it through the air. My activevents give me both.
WH
Listening to music traveling through the air, using hearing aids, is a disaster. It’s always been a disaster for me. If I want to listen to music that plays naturally in the air, I take off my hearing aids and turn up the stereo volume.
1 Like
I very much enjoy well-played live music through my HAs. I sit close to the stage when I can, though. I’ve heard orchestral, vocal, choral, bluegrass, and Indian classical music live in the years I’ve worn HAs, and I’ve enjoyed the vast majority of what I’ve heard.
Music over my once high-end (Linn/Naim) home system has moved from unlistenable to ‘sometimes OK’ as I’ve upgraded my HAs and speakers.
I bump the bass in the app when streaming recorded music, and that helps, but I stream only while on my cycling trainer. The music reduces boredom. I can sort of connect with the music, but it’s rarely uplifting.
I hope my next aids bridge the gap for my home hifi. I have a wall of LPs and CDs that have been unplayed for 15+ years, and I’d like to hear some of them again.
For streaming, don’t forget that you can often adjust the e.q. at the “source” - within the user settings of the streaming service you use.
I use Spotify and its five-band e.q. is substantially more capable than the three-band within the Phonak app. Still not great with my open fitting… but better than HA app e.q. alone and has moved music streaming into the realm of tolerable for me. Fiddling with the “Ambient” slider in the Phonak app makes a very big difference too. That said, I completely agree there is an opportunity for substantial improvement within the HA industry in this area.