 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: Bsharp
Date: 2024-02-26 02:53
This is my first post, though I have been reading this BBoard for years. The last post I could find about hearing aids is from 2018 and technology marches on.
So I wonder if any of you have recent experience and/or recommendations about hearing aids and playing clarinet. Just googling, there seems to be a number of different types of hearing aids.
A bit of context: At the age of 75 I am sure my audiologist will finally tell me it is time for hearing aids. I would say my hearing loss is moderate, not severe. I still play in tune (pretty much!). Though not a professional player, I do play with chamber ensembles who give public recitals. I hear pretty music pretty well - it is mostly conversation that is getting harder to hear.
Thanks for any advice.
Steve
Stephen Schiffman
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Author: Hank Lehrer
Date: 2024-02-26 05:29
Bsharp,
I hear ya' loud and clear. I also have moderate hearing loss and am starting to gather info.
One thing I found out was that you do not have to spend $3-4K for what you need. A couple of old friends said they have had very good luck with Costco. I see that Bluetooth to listen to the TV is becoming available.
Hank
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Author: dorjepismo ★2017
Date: 2024-02-27 03:47
The only ones I've been able to play with are Widex, and they work very well for me. The last set I got was about three years ago. I'd suggest getting the best model you can afford, and also getting in-the-ear ones. I tried playing on a behind-the-ear loaner set once and it lacked the immediacy that you want when playing with people. They need to have a music setting that doesn't try to adjust the volume. After awhile your ears seem to get bigger and you start getting feedback, which I fix by wrapping thin strips of the foam stuff women put under and above their eyes when they mess with their eyelashes. And when they go out of support by the manufacturer, start looking to get new ones, because the aftermarket support by third parties can leave you with unsatisfactory sound.
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Author: kurth83
Date: 2024-02-29 00:59
If you are losing voice, then your frequency range is dropping, likely to well below 10khz.
I have hearing loss, and find that a musician's ear can compensate for a lot. I hear things others don't, but not because my ears are better but because my brain is trained to differentiate sounds others ignore.
My freq ranges tops out at 10-11khz, which isn't great, but isn't disabling yet. Triangles don't sound like they used to for example, but voice is ok, except in a loud restaurant I lose voices before others do.
I have hearing aids, but don't use them except when going out to said loud restaurants. They help there, but generally make music less fun as they are not hi-fi devices. It is much more money to get decent hi-fi devices I hear, but I have not done it.
My mother is nearly deaf, and prefers to play piano in small groups without hearing aids (and does fine), but cannot have a conversation without them.
For TV, I use bose (or sony) hi-fi bluetooth noise cancelling headphones ($300). On my computer (where I watch netflix) I can tweak the response curve (30 band EQ), and the fidelity is amazing. :-) I also keep the volume low to try to avoid further hearing loss (never mind the loud concert band I play in, I need ear plugs, not hearing aids for that one).
Aging classical trumpet player beginning to learn clarinet as a second.
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Author: Bsharp
Date: 2024-02-29 02:40
I just had my audiology appointment - they found (moderate) attenuation of higher frequencies. I tried a few hearing aids (receiver-in-ear type). What most concerned me was the artificial sound of my own voice. Though the audiologist says I will ‘get used to that’, it doesn’t bode well for playing the clarinet with hearing aids turned on. Dorjepismo suggested in-the-ear types, but they didn’t have them to try.
Stephen Schiffman
Post Edited (2024-02-29 02:41)
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Author: dorjepismo ★2017
Date: 2024-03-01 06:39
Stephen, they won't have in-the-ear to try; they make a mold of the insides of your ears and the hearing aid bodies are fabricated from that. It has to be a leap of faith.
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Author: Bsharp
Date: 2024-04-25 03:02
Update:
I received my hearing aids almost 2 months ago. They are behind-the-ear ‘receiver in canal’ type. I wear them all the time so I feel pretty well used to them now.
Perhaps the most challenging aspect is the way I hear my own voice.
I suspect this is because of the mixture between what I hear through bodily resonance vs electronically enhanced through my ear.
This of course also applies to playing the clarinet.
My audiologist worked with me to tweak the hearing aids, and I now have a separate program that I choose to use when playing clarinet. The best way I can describe it is that it de-emphasizes the artificially enhanced higher frequencies.
The result is mixed but positive on balance. Though what I hear sounds somewhat artificial, I hear higher frequencies better. As a result I am better able to fine tune playing in the altissimo - truer pitch and tone production and cleaner connection to the clarinet register. At age 76 I find myself able to continue to improve my playing as a result.
But make no mistake, the sound I now hear is artificial. I am sure the math behind modern hearing aids is impressive, but at the end of the day, some things are compressed, and others enhanced.
Final story. I live within range of Symphony Hall in Boston. I have been attending concerts of the BSO since a student in the 1960’s. I’ve had a subscription for the last 45 years. Upon getting the hearing aids I thought: wow, now I’ll be able to hear the full range of frequencies like I could in the 1960’s. Well, I could hear higher frequencies (strings, in particular), but the sound was awful: hissy and strident. So I removed the hearing aids halfway through the first piece. Immediately I heard again the true beautiful orchestral sound. No contest in live listening between losing some high frequencies versus hearing an electronic concoction.
Stephen Schiffman
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