The 67-year-old hearing test results! You need hearing aids.

[Mr. Widget]

I’m curious: do you find yourself ever aware of the hearing loss above 8K when listening to music or your system?

Personally, I’m not cognizant of my hearing loss, which is likely above 13.5 K or so. High frequencies still strike me as “extended and airy”

Here are a couple of hearing loss anecdotes.

1. About 20 years ago when my hearing was better I was working on some speaker designs with a older friend who could't "hear" sine waves above 8-9kHz, but he still expressed preferences between super tweeters that were steeply crossed over at ~10kHz. I'm not sure if it was the interaction with teh tweeter below crossover frequency, non double blind testing, or if perhaps we hear complex signals differently than pure sine waves.

2. Back then my hearing dropped off markedly above ~15kHz... today unfortunately the drop off is at about 12kHz. I still fully enjoy music and the shimmer of cymbals etc., but I don't think I am hearing as much "air" as I once did.

I am 63 and don't like the idea of getting any older.

I'm about to turn 65. I don't much care for the idea either, but it beats the alternative.

 

[Peterinvan]

Is this strange...

I have light Tinnitus around 8KHz. It came on suddenly about 12 years ago while testing some tweeters without attenuation.

When I use a tone generator (Sinegen.exe) for a DIY test, I get a sharp dip around 8KHz, then it comes back around 9KHz. Are the two related?

 

[Joe Smith]

I am also an audiologist.

Yes, studies show that properly fit hearing aids can help mitigate or reduce tinnitus in roughly 60% of hearing aid users. 40% will experience no change.

Most patients with your type of loss will have speech understanding difficulties in background noise environments, but your experience can vary.


Sort of. We do this because speech information is contained in that region and that is why most hearing aids stop amplifying up to that frequency.

We can often test "ultra high" frequencies above 8 kHz, but that is not typically done in a clinical setting unless we are doing monitoring. For example, if a patient is on certain medications that are ototoxic (can damage hearing), it is important to monitor if their hearing is being affected and that will show up on higher frequencies first.

I'm thinking about an audiology follow-up consult this year to discuss hearing aids. Had sudden onset tinnitus starting with my 65th birthday in December. No problems prior to that. Audiology exam shows my right ear has a hearing drop between 1 - 4 khz, but not severe. But apparently it's enough to cause the tinnitus. They also did an MRI to rule out vestibular tumors, which fortunately I do not have.

Ninjastar, is there any wisdom or commonality about the 60% of folks where the hearing aids help with the tinnitus? My impacted hearing is one ear only, as I say above, between 1 -4 khz, but the "tinnitus tone" I experience in my brain is about 9500 khz.

 

[Andysu]

recent sine wave test , i can hear up to 16KHz with the all the speakers in room , 17KHz i think i could but levels are going to be special adjusted ( tinnitus mild and soft on most days since 1979 ) but doesn't stop me

this graph around 2022 tested with denon 8500h that had decent headphone output , recent stomaudio load of rubbish has no headphone got use a rubbish cheap optical headphone adopter connected to the storm opt output , lousy output at device just barely hear sound on it , need better one that isn't silly high price

generally audiologist test for 100Hz to 8KHz its ideal for speech or general daily sounds , unless anyone likes playing with man-made sine wave tones
to hear special highs on movies above 8KHz

 

[Ninjastar]

I'm thinking about an audiology follow-up consult this year to discuss hearing aids. Had sudden onset tinnitus starting with my 65th birthday in December. No problems prior to that. Audiology exam shows my right ear has a hearing drop between 1 - 4 khz, but not severe. But apparently it's enough to cause the tinnitus. They also did an MRI to rule out vestibular tumors, which fortunately I do not have.

Ninjastar, is there any wisdom or commonality about the 60% of folks where the hearing aids help with the tinnitus? My impacted hearing is one ear only, as I say above, between 1 -4 khz, but the "tinnitus tone" I experience in my brain is about 9500 khz.

Honestly, I couldn't say one way or the other.

Some people can have hearing thresholds which are still in the "normal" range and still get tinnitus. Others can have severe loss at some frequencies and not get tinnitus.

The reason why hearing aids can help some who suffer from tinnitus is because, for the most part, it is rooted in hearing loss. And the device is essentially restoring hearing, so in theory, the brain will stop creating it.

But even if you are a part of the roughly 60% who have success in reducing your tinnitus with a hearing aid, the tinnitus will come back when you're not wearing the device.

There's no "cure" for tinnitus, just management strategies. And wearing a device is one of those that people have had success with.

 

[dtaylo1066]

With a little more playing around with the on line tone generator, I found:

I can hear up to about 11K in my left ear, and 13k in my right, but have to turn the volume up significantly to hear both of those.

 

[MattHooper]

Is this strange...

I have light Tinnitus around 8KHz. It came on suddenly about 12 years ago while testing some tweeters without attenuation.

When I use a tone generator (Sinegen.exe) for a DIY test, I get a sharp dip around 8KHz, then it comes back around 9KHz. Are the two related?

The general view seems to be: Yes. One theory about Tinnitus is that when you loose cells/hearing at a certain frequency the brain creates a feedback noise/system looking for that frequency. People's tinnitus is often the same frequency of their hearing loss. Mine seems to be around my 6K hearing dip.

 

[amper42]

>I can hear up to about 11K in my left ear, and 13k in my right, but have to turn the volume up significantly to hear both of those.

That's actually not too bad. Don't expect hearing aids will make music sound better. They absolutely suck. Even the expensive ones designed for music lovers. Best to protect the hearing you have left by keeping volumes reasonable. If your hearing gets too bad this hobby won't be much fun.

 

[MRC01]

The general view seems to be: Yes. One theory about Tinnitus is that when you loose cells/hearing at a certain frequency the brain creates a feedback noise/system looking for that frequency. People's tinnitus is often the same frequency of their hearing loss. Mine seems to be around my 6K hearing dip.

Yes, one theory I've read is that part of the human hearing system is the brain adjusting biological "gain" at different frequencies. With natural age related hearing loss of high frequencies, the progression is gentle and incremental, so perception gain gradually adjusts. This suggests that any tinnitus one hears comes from the biological "gain" at or just above one's highest perceptible frequency.

Personally I find this theory fits my own experience. I occasionally hear light ringing in my ears and the frequency seems to be around 15-16 kHz which seems to be just above what I can hear.

 

[Barrelhouse Solly]

I would say hearing aids. You're getting to the point where EQ won't give you enough boost. My hearing rolls off sharply above 2K in one ear and is better in the other. I've tried both and have had much better results with the hearing aids. One caveat: Hearing aids don't do much above 8KHz or so. The hardware is tiny. Even so, you may be surprised by how much you've been missing. One thing that's hard to improve is listening with headphones. Feedback is a problem with a lot of over the ear headphones and on ear are difficult to make work well with hearing aids.

 

[Mr. Widget]

One thing that's hard to improve is listening with headphones. Feedback is a problem with a lot of over the ear headphones and on ear are difficult to make work well with hearing aids.

One of the audiologists on this thread can add details, but I have a couple of customers who listen with the help of hearing aids, and there are wireless devices that will send their music or TV audio directly to their hearing aids effectively making the hearing aids their headphones. You might look into this possibility.

 

[amper42]

One of the audiologists on this thread can add details, but I have a couple of customers who listen with the help of hearing aids, and there are wireless devices that will send their music or TV audio directly to their hearing aids effectively making the hearing aids their headphones. You might look into this possibility.

That's certainly an available option via blue-tooth on most hearing aids. It's not going to be hi-fidelity or fit any Harmon curve discussed here but will get you a basic signal. Hearing aids are a great option instead of missing what's being said on TV or from friends/family that visit but the fidelity we have come to expect with our ears using a decent speaker or headphone it's NOT.

Anyone telling you their hearing aids work great for audiophiles is so far from the truth it's embarrassing. I had a busted ear drum for 6 months before a patch surgically repaired it. They actually cut a piece of skin off your ear lobe to use as the patch. I tried all sorts of hearing aids made for music lovers during that time and they all sucked. Even the really expensive devices were not 1/10th as good as my ears when working. About 10 days after my surgery the eardrum was working again and it was absolutely fantastic. If I would have had to stay with hearing aids I would have sold all my audio gear and went fishing instead. I love that surgeon!

 

[Barrelhouse Solly]

One of the audiologists on this thread can add details, but I have a couple of customers who listen with the help of hearing aids, and there are wireless devices that will send their music or TV audio directly to their hearing aids effectively making the hearing aids their headphones. You might look into this possibility.

I have. Bluetooth is fine for phone calls but not for music.

 

[Mr. Widget]

I don't know much about high quality hearing aid options, but I know some concert halls install closed loop systems to allow concert goers with hearing aids to hear the music better. One of our wealthy clients installed a loop in his home listening room. More recently he disconnected the loop and changed over to another technology for improved "fidelity"... is it high fidelity? I doubt it, but hearing more of the music is an improvement.

 

[DMill]

I’m 56. Hearing up to 14k+ based on my first listening test since middle school. I will add I’ve never overdone headphones or concerts. Also, I’m a fair shot on a range with a shotgun but have always worn protective gear. it goes without saying that as we age genetically it’s different. I have a couple dental implants cause my teeth suck. In fairness I don’t think most problems we associate with getting older and audio are fair. Almost all issues with speakers, for example, are audible for most.

 

[earlevel]

I'm 60, still hear up to at least 13.5k. I have a high Q dip around 6k, but I don't sweat it.

I know I hear to 14k+...because one day I went searching for my tinnitus frequency, using a tone, and it matched just over 14k—LOL. I didn't see much point in testing higher. I'm 67.

I took a routine medication several years ago, and the tone appeared. Stopping the medication right away, the tone remained. It's kind of loud when it's quiet, but I know some have it a lot worse. It doesn't bother me when listening to music. When I was younger, I'd know when someone didn't shut off the TV monitor as soon as I walked in the door, from the pitch of the flyback transformer. Now, I supposed it would get drowned out, if we still had them.

 

[Robin L]

I know I hear to 14k+...because one day I went searching for my tinnitus frequency, using a tone, and it matched just over 14k—LOL. I didn't see much point in testing higher. I'm 67.

I took a routine medication several years ago, and the tone appeared. Stopping the medication right away, the tone remained. It's kind of loud when it's quiet, but I know some have it a lot worse. It doesn't bother me when listening to music. When I was younger, I'd know when someone didn't shut off the TV monitor as soon as I walked in the door, from the pitch of the flyback transformer. Now, I supposed it would get drowned out, if we still had them.

I remember that flyback transformer sound. Then I went to a Neil Young concert. Didn't hear it any more.

 

[dtaylo1066]

I know I hear to 14k+...because one day I went searching for my tinnitus frequency, using a tone, and it matched just over 14k—LOL. I didn't see much point in testing higher. I'm 67.

I took a routine medication several years ago, and the tone appeared. Stopping the medication right away, the tone remained. It's kind of loud when it's quiet, but I know some have it a lot worse. It doesn't bother me when listening to music. When I was younger, I'd know when someone didn't shut off the TV monitor as soon as I walked in the door, from the pitch of the flyback transformer. Now, I supposed it would get drowned out, if we still had them.

I sometimes wonder what medications could add to tinnitus. I have taken blood pressure meds for decades, though low dosage, and Prilosec or other acid reducers for ever. All have side effects and no one is certain of them all, or who might be affected by what.

 

[AnalogSteph]

Typically, and for many years, I have had issues properly hearing discussions at loud parties, in loud restaurants, etc., as the background noise really bothers me. I seem to be acutely sensitive to it. Same with traffic and road noise, lawnmowers, etc.

This hasn't always been the case though, has it? Could be what's referred to as "hidden hearing loss" then.

Hidden hearing loss

Did a hearing test show you have normal hearing but you still feel like you can't hear well? You may have hidden or invisible hearing loss.

www.healthyhearing.com

The same phenomenon is also quite common in individuals on the autistic spectrum, which kind of makes sense if you think about it.

I don't have the best genetic disposition in terms of hearing... at 42, I just about make it to 13.5k with a following wind, and the issues with low-level tinnitus in my left ear have become more pronounced over the last few years. My listening levels have generally been 10 dB below average, though still not as low as my mom's (she'll start to complain at barely elevated levels). I've always had trouble in noisy environments.

 

[dtaylo1066]

This hasn't always been the case though, has it? Could be what's referred to as "hidden hearing loss" then.

Hidden hearing loss

Did a hearing test show you have normal hearing but you still feel like you can't hear well? You may have hidden or invisible hearing loss.

www.healthyhearing.com

The same phenomenon is also quite common in individuals on the autistic spectrum, which kind of makes sense if you think about it.

I don't have the best genetic disposition in terms of hearing... at 42, I just about make it to 13.5k with a following wind, and the issues with low-level tinnitus in my left ear have become more pronounced over the last few years. My listening levels have generally been 10 dB below average, though still not as low as my mom's (she'll start to complain at barely elevated levels). I've always had trouble in noisy environments.

Worse of late, but even in my late 20s and 30s at a loud party or bar I could not hear what people were saying unless they shouted in my ear, while others could much more readily hear.

Lots of good information has surfaced on this thread. I'm glad I started it.

Also, at live music events, while loud music did not drive me nuts, if the music was distorted it really annoyed me, while others could not seem to give a poop.