@sameyers1 - Jabra OTC (or any other OTC) are not the same as the Jabras you get at Costco for $1500 (and which I currently happily use), where you have sessions with an audiologist who can fine tune and EQ them to close to your liking over a number of iterations. I also believe that the technology in these hearing aids is superior to that of OTC's. The current Jabra hearing aids are the previous year's TOTL made by GN, who make ReSound and Beltone hearing aids, among others. I used to go to non-Costco audiologists and paid $6K for hearing aids; the main benefit was the ease in getting an appointment for followups.
Sudden Hearing Loss and Impact on Music Enjoyment
This post is partly a cautionary tale and partly me looking for advice from fellow audiophiles who might have been through something similar.
At the end of January this year, I had a sinus infection that seemed to affect my left ear. One morning I woke up and noticed that my ear felt muffled and my hearing wasn’t quite right. At first, I assumed it was just my sinuses acting up. I tried wax-removal drops and even did some irrigation, but nothing improved. My doctor then prescribed a course of steroids, thinking it might be related to fluid buildup.
Unfortunately, things got worse. I gradually lost almost all hearing in that ear, and there was a lot of distortion as well.
I eventually saw an ENT specialist and an audiologist, and that’s when I learned that this was most likely Sudden Sensorineural Hearing Loss (SSHL). Apparently, if the correct treatment is started within about 72 hours, there’s a chance the hearing can be saved. After that short window closes, the loss is often permanent. I really wish I had known that earlier when I first contacted my doctor.
So if anyone reading this ever experiences sudden changes in hearing, please don’t wait—get to an ENT immediately. The treatment window is extremely short.
Now that I’m starting to come to terms with this, I’ve begun researching options like hearing aids and cochlear implants. That leads me to my question for anyone here who has experience with either.
As audiophiles, we tend to listen to music a bit differently—we focus on details, tone, timbre, soundstage, and all those subtle nuances. For those of you using hearing aids or who have undergone cochlear implant surgery, how has it affected your ability to enjoy music? Does music sound very different? Were you able to reconnect with it in a meaningful way? As you can imagine, this is both stressful and sad that I won't be able to enjoy the one hobby that has become such an important part of my life.
I’d really appreciate hearing about your experiences. Feel free to share here, or send me a DM if you’d rather keep it private.
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After multiple hearing aids, Widex renewed my love of music and audiophilia. Widex is popular with musicians due to their wide dynamic range and ability to turn off most of their internal processing. Their phone app also includes parametric equalization. I actually have different programs for different speakers.
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+1 @yakatak My Widex (only one ear due to upper frequency hearing loss caused by who knows what) has made a real difference. |
Sorry to hear about your situation. I have bilateral / symmetric hearing loss from getting too close to a bank of JBLs at an outdoor festival. I recently caved in and got hearing aids and I was quite surprised at how good music sounds through them. I did a couple of 45 day trials and learned quite a bit. Widex, signia, hear.com are all owned by WSA. Hear.com is a rip off. I bought the Signia Pure Charge&Go BCT 7IX from directhearing.com for about 1/2 the cost of the exact same Hear.com branded unit. The brick-and-mortar audiology shops are a complete rip off. Avoid Costco. All the higher end WSA products have music mode which turns off noise cancelling, AI features, etc. The key for listening to music through hearing aids is to get the fully open domes and make sure they fit properly. However if the hearing loss is not symmetrical you may need to experiment with fully-open on the better side and more closed on the worse side. Best of luck. |
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