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Aging ears and Nuances

I spoke to and older audio buddy of mine and he made a full 180 on his nice tube gear and just went with lower cost streamer that can also be used as a preamp. He says he doesn’t hear much above 11.5k. My tests let me hear up to about 13.5k but I’m able to hear even subtle differences between tube amps etc quite easily even though most of the music is in lower frequencies of the spectrum regardless. Does anyone here find themselves experiencing a more difficult time appreciating the nuances with their age? And has it affected the choices you have made with gear, not being as picky? 

rankaudio
signaforce's avatar
signaforce
556 posts
 

2 more things:

1. Try to find an audiologist that specializes in music. While there are none in my area, most major cities will have them. 
2. Have your audiologist create a specific music program. While most HA’s have this, mine was not optimized.
Per chatGPT: Ask Your Audiologist for a Dedicated “Audiophile/Music” Program. Request a custom program with these adjustments:

Setting

Recommendation for Audiophile Mode

Compression

Minimized or linear to preserve dynamics

Frequency response

Extend to 8 kHz+ (or max supported); fine-tuned per your hearing loss

Noise reduction

Off or very low - reduces artifacts and preserves ambient cues

Feedback suppression

Low or off - may introduce distortion, especially in high frequencies

Directionality

Omnidirectional - preserves room ambience and soundstage

Wind/impulse noise

Off for indoor/music use

Speech enhancement

Off - not needed for music or critical listening

Gain for soft inputs

Slightly increased for subtle musical details
troutstreamnm's avatar
troutstreamnm
102 posts
 

I’m 66 years old with a significant loss of hearing in the high frequencies. I have an excellent Audiologist that has helped me with getting fully programmable hearing aids with frequency corrections tailored to my specific hearing loss.  The Oticon aids also provide several programs to adjust to different listening environments including listening to music.  I still can enjoy critical listening sessions which is very important to me.  Highly recommend you find a quality Audiologist to assist you and never go cheap with your hearing.

macg19
1,387 posts
 

@signaforce 

Have your audiologist create a specific music program

This is good advice. Check that your provider knows how to optimize a program for recorded music program and can tweak it as needed, for example after your brain gets used to the new device.

You can also use different domes. You might find a closed or partially closed dome is better for social situations or TV, and open is better for music.

larsman's avatar
larsman
3,169 posts
 

At Costco, for an extra $60, you can get custom molded earpieces instead of domes. 

pastorbob's avatar
pastorbob
87 posts
 

78 year old here. I certainly  have modest hearing loss & slight tinnitus in my left ear. I have taken advantage of the increased excellence in headphone listening. With top notch gear I can hear nuance, tonal shades, and spatial qualities. Headphone listening is a benefit for us old guys with loss of hearing acuity.

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