I've got hearing loss - help please finding a headphone

[ommadusk]

Hi,

I've been listening to music on earphones and headphones since I was child, I'm now 43 years old. I had grommets as a child. I noticed some hearing loss recently and I got my ears tested and I've got hearing loss in both ears. I've now started listening to my headphones quieter and I've noticed how much outside noise there is. I'm going to have be careful going forward. I have a couple of headphones which I use only at home and I'd like to find some new headphones with passive noise cancelling for when I'm out and about. I don't know where to start looking. Perhaps by asking what are some popular models which have reviews on ASR?

 

[Jimbob54]

Hi,

I've been listening to music on earphones and headphones since I was child, I'm now 43 years old. I had grommets as a child. I noticed some hearing loss recently and I got my ears tested and I've got hearing loss in both ears. I've now started listening to my headphones quieter and I've noticed how much outside noise there is. I'm going to have be careful going forward. I have a couple of headphones which I use only at home and I'd like to find some new headphones with passive noise cancelling for when I'm out and about. I don't know where to start looking. Perhaps by asking what are some popular models which have reviews on ASR?

Rough budget? What will you be driving them with when mobile?

If you dont have big ears the AKG k371 might be a good first look. Easy to drive, close to the Harman preference target that is the benchmark around these parts.

PS- do you want wired or Bluetooth?

Oh, and this thread will help- check post #2 and its link

Edit- link would have been useful! https://www.audiosciencereview.com/...r-passive-noise-canceling.44179/#post-1571340

 

[fpitas]

Rough budget? What will you be driving them with when mobile?

If you dont have big ears the AKG k371 might be a good first look. Easy to drive, close to the Harman preference target that is the benchmark around these parts.

PS- do you want wired or Bluetooth?

Oh, and this thread will help- check post #2 and its link

I think you forgot the thread link.

 

[Jimbob54]

I think you forgot the thread link.

Just realised too- amended ta

 

[Doodski]

With hearing loss PEQ (Parametric Equalizer) is a requirement. If you are on Windows install this and then this and then open Peace Equalizer and adjust to the best sound that suits you. If on Mac use this or this but not both.

 

[ommadusk]

Probably £200/$250. I'll be using a Shanling M3X https://en.shanling.com/article-M3XIntro.html which has bluetooth. I've never used bluetooth so that would be nice if the quality is still good.

With hearing loss PEQ (Parametric Equalizer) is a requirement. If you are on Windows install this and then this and then open Peace Equalizer and adjust to the best sound that suits you. If on Mac use this or this but not both.
View attachment 304906

Ok. Thank you.

 

[Jimbob54]

Oh, more ideas https://www.audiosciencereview.com/...se-or-sundara-or-hd560s-or.45905/post-1636976

You definitely want closed back

 

[ommadusk]

That's great.

 

[ommadusk]

Thank you.

 

[jae]

The AKG is a decent suggestion. Would look into the Qudelix-5k which has built in peq and a battery. IEMs will also give you more isolation in situations where you may need it and easier to apply gain with less leakage. There are very good $20 IEMs on amazon such as the tangzu wan'er or 7hz zero that don't break the bank either. Try EQ'ing the hearing loss regions of your loss at about a magnitude of about 1/3rd of the threshold on your audiogram to start. If you only have an audiogram up to 8k you can try extrapolating the slope to 16k if you have more HF loss.

 

[ommadusk]

Thanks.

I forgot to say I've got small ears so the AKG could be a possibility.

I've got hearing loss between 1.25k and 2.5k down to 40dB at the worst dip. They describe mild hearing loss as being between 25-40dB so what's the threshold here?

 

[MRC01]

At least 2 different questions here:

1. Recommend headphones with noise cancellation so you can listen more quietly and still hear everything. In addition to the above, I suggest in-ear monitors having foam or silicone seals which can attenuate outside sounds by around 25-30 dB. VERY effective. But not safe for walking, biking, driving, etc. when you need to hear outside sounds. For example: https://www.audiosciencereview.com/...ruthear-x-crinacle-zero-red-iem-review.44865/

PS: I got Jabra Elite 85H headphones for my wife and daughter, they both absolutely love them. They have clean, low distortion, linear response with built-in noise reduction that is effective, and can be disabled. And they still work like new after 2 years of daily use, showing good quality & durability. Unfortunately, it's a discontinued model.

2. Whether to EQ music to accommodate your hearing loss. My personal opinion is no - because then it won't sound natural anymore. It will sound artificially enhanced (which it is). But this is a subjective opinion, others may want to do it. Also it depends on how much the hearing loss affects you.

 

[ommadusk]

There is an argument for using a PMQ because I'm probably listening to music too loud to compensate for the areas where I'm not hearing as well. If it's too loud I'll be damaging my ears further. So I'll give the PEQ a go. I'm pretty sure I'm listening to music too loud at the moment.

 

[MRC01]

There is an argument for using a PMQ because I'm probably listening to music too loud to compensate for the areas where I'm not hearing as well. If it's too loud I'll be damaging my ears further. So I'll give the PEQ a go. I'm pretty sure I'm listening to music too loud at the moment.

For my wife, who is losing her high frequency hearing, I applied a compression curve in DSP, which was more effective than equalization. We don't listen any louder, but now the quiet parts aren't as quiet. It really works, she doesn't ask me, "what did she say" nearly as often when watching shows.

I did this with a Behringer DEQ2496, but many other DSP software & hardware can do it.

 

[Majnu]

Just stumbled upon this forum. I have moderate to severe hearing loss in my left ear and am looking for something similar.
1) I tried Airpods Pro headphones accommodations using Audiogram data https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT211218 , But it doesn't works if you have asymmetric hearing loss.
"If you have a nearly symmetric audiogram, Headphone Accommodations will take the average of the two ears and fit the left and right audio channels with that profile. If you have an asymmetric audiogram, it will fit the left and right audio channels for your better ear."
2) Tried Avantree Aria ME, Didnt worked as expected.
3) Waiting for Audeara A-02, this also can be configured using audiogram

Am still looking for headphones where EQ settings can be saved on the device. There are many headphone options for L and R eq, but max adjustment is +/- 12 DB which wont help me.
I primarily use Chromebook for personal use which has no EQ apps. .

 

[nathan]

Just stumbled upon this forum. I have moderate to severe hearing loss in my left ear and am looking for something similar.
1) I tried Airpods Pro headphones accommodations using Audiogram data https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT211218 , But it doesn't works if you have asymmetric hearing loss.
"If you have a nearly symmetric audiogram, Headphone Accommodations will take the average of the two ears and fit the left and right audio channels with that profile. If you have an asymmetric audiogram, it will fit the left and right audio channels for your better ear."
2) Tried Avantree Aria ME, Didnt worked as expected.
3) Waiting for Audeara A-02, this also can be configured using audiogram

Am still looking for headphones where EQ settings can be saved on the device. There are many headphone options for L and R eq, but max adjustment is +/- 12 DB which wont help me.
I primarily use Chromebook for personal use which has no EQ apps. .

Depending on what is asymmetric, the co binational of audiogram changes and the balance control may get you in the ballpark with the AirPod pros. I take it that didn’t solve it?

I am curious whether the other options did anything better?