hearing decline with age

[TLEDDY]

For any other "oldsters" out there ...... how have you handled this problem? Jim Taylor[/QUOTE]

Well, I am 80 and my hearing was severely compromised during Basic Training for the Army. M1 rifle, Govt model .45 and simulated artillery without hearing protection :-(

On a good day I can hear cymbals, but not a triangle. You mention 6K - at least that is good for the human voice and a bit more...

I take what I can get and appreciate it as much as I can. My little bedroom system is Tidal-Cambrige 80-Kef R3 and SVS 3000 Micro. And yes, I enjoy it a lot!

 

[Kalessin]

My father needed a new pair of hearing aids, and this time we specified that my father would like a model that will also handle music well. The audiologist helped select a model, so here's hoping we can get an improvement!

 

[Phorize]

My father needed a new pair of hearing aids, and this time we specified that my father would like a model that will also handle music well. The audiologist helped select a model, so here's hoping we can get an improvement!

If my audiologist wife were reading this post, she’d say that whilst some devices are better than others from a technical perspective the things that impact most on the patient outcomes are:

-the quality of the prescription, which should be based on real ear measurements taken in a booth and not what audiologists refer to as ‘click and fit’ i.e guessing the prescription.

-the quality of the counselling on device use and lifestyle during the fitting and in subsequent follow ups.

-where sound quality is concerned, including music, the individualised programming of the dynamic feedback algorithm to optimise signal compression for ‘best sound’ and comfort from the users individual perspective.

I’m a clinical layperson but get to hear the almost daily stories of people who walk into her clinic with expensive devices fitted using a ‘one size fits all’ approach (fitted elsewhere) based on a flawed prescription, complaining that they can’t live with them.

Not saying you should be concerned at all about the quality of your father’s assessment but it’s reasonable to expect the audiologist to fully explain their protocol and demonstrate that the prescription and fitting are person centred.

 

[Mojo Warrior]

Hearing loss and vision both naturally decline with age. Ask anybody who has attended medical school. Anybody over 50 who claims to have "golden ears" are liars and fools. Free hearing evaluations are available at Costco, make an appointment.

 

[MaxRockbin]

Hearing loss and vision both naturally decline with age. Ask anybody who has attended medical school. Anybody over 50 who claims to have "golden ears" are liars and fools. Free hearing evaluations are available at Costco, make an appointment.

Do you know if Costco tests above 8K? When I went in for a hearing test at Kaiser they wouldn't test above that (weren't even set up for it) because they said it doesn't impact speech intelligibility - which I don't think is true. BTW - like you said, make an appointment. I was expecting to be able to walk-in (It's Costco - right? Should be the same as buying Pizza) and nope.

 

[Phorize]

Hearing loss and vision both naturally decline with age. Ask anybody who has attended medical school. Anybody over 50 who claims to have "golden ears" are liars and fools. Free hearing evaluations are available at Costco, make an appointment.

Nothing is free. It costs you your time, and exposure to a trained sales professional who is selling devices to a strict target on pain of dismissal.

Edit: mind you, according to google some of their stores use real ear measurements, which is good.

 

[Grumpish]

Do you know if Costco tests above 8K?

Any audiologists please feel free to chime in - but hearing aids are just that, they are aids to help day to day life for people with hearing loss. As well as simple amplification, they shift higher frequencies down to where they are easier to hear, they focus on sounds in front of you, and they alter the dynamic range of sounds. Since they are primarily aids for hearing speech there is very little point in them working at higher frequencies, and very little point in testing above 8K, since there are very few, if any, sounds in human speech that are above 5K.

 

[spartaman64]

im probably on the younger side (22) and i was watching a review on a headphone and the reviewer said there is a peak at 17khz but he didnt bother eqing it because he can barely hear it and the peak at 10khz is more important. but when i did the eq the 17khz peaking filter made a lot more difference to me than the 10khz one.

 

[Kalessin]

If my audiologist wife were reading this post, she’d say that whilst some devices are better than others from a technical perspective the things that impact most on the patient outcomes are:

-the quality of the prescription, which should be based on real ear measurements taken in a booth and not what audiologists refer to as ‘click and fit’ i.e guessing the prescription.

-the quality of the counselling on device use and lifestyle during the fitting and in subsequent follow ups.

-where sound quality is concerned, including music, the individualised programming of the dynamic feedback algorithm to optimise signal compression for ‘best sound’ and comfort from the users individual perspective.

I’m a clinical layperson but get to hear the almost daily stories of people who walk into her clinic with expensive devices fitted using a ‘one size fits all’ approach (fitted elsewhere) based on a flawed prescription, complaining that they can’t live with them.

Not saying you should be concerned at all about the quality of your father’s assessment but it’s reasonable to expect the audiologist to fully explain their protocol and demonstrate that the prescription and fitting are person centred.

My father is past the age of 80, and his hearing has never been great (dating back to a series of very bad ear infections when he was a toddler), and in the past few years, his deafness has become profound. He has a new audiologist since the last pair was fitted around six years ago, but the usual first priority with hearing like his has been getting him to be able to hear speech, and nobody had really described how he wasn't hearing music until I joined a consultation, and helped explain and discuss.

Hearing aids for him are mostly paid for out-of-pocket, and we're lucky that we have the financial resources to choose nearly any make or model this time around. Hearing aid electronic technology has also advanced quite a bit in this short time.

 

[Mojo Warrior]

My father is past the age of 80, and his hearing has never been great (dating back to a series of very bad ear infections when he was a toddler), and in the past few years, his deafness has become profound. He has a new audiologist since the last pair was fitted around six years ago, but the usual first priority with hearing like his has been getting him to be able to hear speech, and nobody had really described how he wasn't hearing music until I joined a consultation, and helped explain and discuss.

Hearing aids for him are mostly paid for out-of-pocket, and we're lucky that we have the financial resources to choose nearly any make or model this time around. Hearing aid electronic technology has also advanced quite a bit in this short time.

Lobbyists for the hearing aid industry made sure that hearing aids ( eyeglasses and dental care) were not covered by Medicare (in America), so they can charge exorbitant prices.

Seems that politicians don't care about their elderly constituents. Hopefully, this situation will be remedied, soon.

 

[Mojo Warrior]

Do you know if Costco tests above 8K? When I went in for a hearing test at Kaiser they wouldn't test above that (weren't even set up for it) because they said it doesn't impact speech intelligibility - which I don't think is true. BTW - like you said, make an appointment. I was expecting to be able to walk-in (It's Costco - right? Should be the same as buying Pizza) and nope.

IIRC they tested me to 20k. The hearing testing is not a Costco company but they lease the space to outside vendors. Because they require a sound proof room to do testing, yes, you should make an appointment. There was no pressure for me to purchase anything. No obligatory consultation. It's not take-out pizza.