NoRhino Posted May 15, 2017 Share Posted May 15, 2017 I've joined the hearing aid club and need some advice please. I wear the HA in one ear. I also always wear ear plugs when gigging. What do you do? Take the HA out and continue as normal or what? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ghost_Bass Posted May 15, 2017 Share Posted May 15, 2017 Why don't you use a earplug in the free ear and reduce the volume on the EA. If you need a EA i guess it should be usefull on stage aswell. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul S Posted May 15, 2017 Share Posted May 15, 2017 I have 2 hearing aids and haven't found a good way around taking them out, putting in ear plugs, putting them in again. I use IEMs when gigging which gives a totally controllable volume in your ears but then as soon as we finish the first set/stop playing/whatever have to put the hearing aids back in again. All a bit of a nuisance, really. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skidder652003 Posted May 15, 2017 Share Posted May 15, 2017 take the hearing aid out and wear the plugs, you dont want any more ampllification than normal, Ive made that mistake, once. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PaulWarning Posted May 15, 2017 Share Posted May 15, 2017 yep, take then out ear plugs in, horse stable door and all that Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chris_b Posted May 15, 2017 Share Posted May 15, 2017 I know several guys who use hearing aids and they take them out for the gig. . . . but don't put any plugs or hearing protection in. A couple are very loud players as well. I don't understand why anyone, especially a working musician, would intentionally make themselves deafer after getting themselves to the point where HA's are necessary. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NoRhino Posted May 15, 2017 Author Share Posted May 15, 2017 Thanks for the advice and suggestions. I only got it to increase high frequencies slightly coz I live in a house with three women. I'll take the HA out at gigs and keep using both plugs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Count Bassy Posted May 15, 2017 Share Posted May 15, 2017 Not yet, but just started the process. Had the preliminary hearing test last week and the results were quite a shock. So, nothing to offer as advice, but I will be watching others responses carefully. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
leschirons Posted May 15, 2017 Share Posted May 15, 2017 [quote name='NoRhino' timestamp='1494884842' post='3299370'] Thanks for the advice and suggestions. I only got it to increase high frequencies slightly coz I live in a house with three women. I'll take the HA out at gigs and keep using both plugs. [/quote] You've got that the wrong way round mate😂 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NoRhino Posted May 16, 2017 Author Share Posted May 16, 2017 😆 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scrumpymike Posted May 16, 2017 Share Posted May 16, 2017 I'm same as you with a small part of the frequency range missing in both ears. I only wear my aids in difficult situations like meetings or when the audio on the telly isn't very clear - less than 5% of the day on average. I play without aids or plugs but we don't play very loud. We're all different s0 I think you need to experiment a bit while erring on the side of caution to avoid any further damage. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PaulWarning Posted May 16, 2017 Share Posted May 16, 2017 I've posted this before but this is an online hearing test that mimics the one the audiologist does https://hearingtest.online/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chris_b Posted May 16, 2017 Share Posted May 16, 2017 [quote name='scrumpymike' timestamp='1494921681' post='3299522'] I play without aids or plugs but we don't play very loud. [/quote] Hearing damage is accumulative and imperceptible. Over time "not very loud" might just be adding to the straws on the camel's back. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
naxos10 Posted May 16, 2017 Share Posted May 16, 2017 I have hearing aids in both ears and luckily as part of the package I had a free set of musicians earplugs which give a 19db cut. At band practice or a gig I take the hearing aids out and put the plugs in as there is no point in making the situation any worse. If it's any help to anyone there are a wide variety of hearing aids available and some may benefit your situation more than others i.e. over ear or in ear utilising or blocking the ear canal while others sit in the ear canal with an open transducer. It is suprising what is on offer and it is worth discussing you requirements and needs with your consultant. In my case I have high frequency loss and also suffer from tinnitus so the over the ear with in ear canal transducer met my needs best. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PaulWarning Posted May 16, 2017 Share Posted May 16, 2017 [quote name='naxos10' timestamp='1494939815' post='3299762'] I have hearing aids in both ears and luckily as part of the package I had a free set of musicians earplugs which give a 19db cut. At band practice or a gig I take the hearing aids out and put the plugs in as there is no point in making the situation any worse. If it's any help to anyone there are a wide variety of hearing aids available and some may benefit your situation more than others i.e. over ear or in ear utilising or blocking the ear canal while others sit in the ear canal with an open transducer. It is suprising what is on offer and it is worth discussing you requirements and needs with your consultant. In my case I have high frequency loss and also suffer from tinnitus so the over the ear with in ear canal transducer met my needs best. [/quote]I have the NHS ones which sound like the ones you describe, I have a big drop off in hearing around the 6K Hz area, it took me a year to get used to them but now I wouldn't be without them, have to turn them off when listening to music though, makes HF sound really harsh Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
naxos10 Posted May 17, 2017 Share Posted May 17, 2017 I have not listened to the hi-fi with mine yet, it is something I must do. The hearing aids I use have the capability (with an extra bit of kit) of playing music from my mp3 player so I do not have to remove them and use headphones, and they do not sound to bad at all. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ivansc Posted May 18, 2017 Share Posted May 18, 2017 Hate mine. I ripped off the plastic moulded bits when I first got them and found the results a lot better with just the tubes. Cant wear them to record or mix in the studio and as previously stated NEVER wear then at a gig. My big problem is that I am -70 in left ear, -40 in right ear and most of it up in the treble range. My NHS kit is provided by the local specsavers, who dont appear to be aware that there are alternatives to the usual moulded plug ones. I may have to go back and bug them to find me something better - left aid is playing up anyway. Is it me, or is the biggest problem with the cheap aids that they amplify sound from behind you MORE than sound from in front of you? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PaulWarning Posted May 18, 2017 Share Posted May 18, 2017 [quote name='ivansc' timestamp='1495094078' post='3301128'] Is it me, or is the biggest problem with the cheap aids that they amplify sound from behind you MORE than sound from in front of you? [/quote]it does appear that way until your brain gets used to them, it took me a year and it's no good just wearing them just some of the time either, if it's the NHS ones they can set them so you can switch off the rear mic, didn't make much difference for me but might be worth a try Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ivansc Posted May 18, 2017 Share Posted May 18, 2017 According to my hearing "expert" you can only appear to reduce the sound coming from the rear since they only have one mic. And to be truthful I cant hear any difference at all. And I have noticed that when wearing them in noisy environments like restaurants if I cup my hands around the back of my ears, the background noise is massively reduced and sounds from in front of me are far more intelligible. I am now working on a set of mechanically operated mini-hands to do the cupping for me when needed. As soon as I get it set up, will post crowd-funding details on here. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Telebass Posted May 18, 2017 Share Posted May 18, 2017 All current NHS aids have two mics. That way, you can have a programme to switch off the rear mic, which helps a little in noisy situations, or when you are sitting next to a hard reflective surface - eg a table near a wal in a restaurant. The problem is, if you don't know about the different programmes, half the time they don't mention them. Even having the loop setting had to be done second time round for me. Although, bar a few limited situations, loop is pretty useless, as most place have crap loops/dpn't turn them on or don't know how/they are broken. My HAs drive me nuts. I hate them, and have had some amount of similar exprience to ivansc re the moulds. I finally ended up with moulds which have a cutaway and a tube, rather than the normal two tubes, which helps a bit listening to music. The 'music programme' on the aids is a total joke. Back to OP: aids out, plugs in. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
naxos10 Posted May 19, 2017 Share Posted May 19, 2017 Fortunately I do not have moulds but a plug which is closer in design to a very thin headphone ear bud with the tube being very flexible although pre-shaped to fit in the ear. This arrangement is comfortable enough to wear all day. Not had many of the options programmed into the hearing aids yet as they work quite well using there own automatic system. I will state that these are not NHS which meant that I ad more more options available in both the type and style of hearing aid I could have, but to go along with that there is a significant increase in cost. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xgsjx Posted May 19, 2017 Share Posted May 19, 2017 I've got a pair of ric hearing aids. They're sat in the cupboard with no batteries. I'm going to be looking in to see if I can get a pair that can double as IEMs. I know there are bluetooth ones that double as headphones. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bolo Posted May 19, 2017 Share Posted May 19, 2017 [quote name='xgsjx' timestamp='1495177344' post='3301806'] I've got a pair of ric hearing aids. They're sat in the cupboard with no batteries. I'm going to be looking in to see if I can get a pair that can double as IEMs. I know there are bluetooth ones that double as headphones. [/quote] Keep in mind hearing aids are designed and built primarily for speech. Not optimised for music generally, though some may get away with it none will sound as good as ones build for music. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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