"Stone Deaf Forever"

[Ensnared]

I started listening to extremely loud music in 1969. My nephew, who is in a metal band called Astringency, told me that stepping outside of a loud concert for around 30 minutes helps reduce the likelihood of leveled hair cells. Unfortunately, I did not have this knowledge when I was growing up.

Hence, I find it difficult to hear people talking. In most cases, this is a blessing. However, there are folks I do want to hear when they speak.

In the recent past, some people have opted for hearing amplifiers instead of traditional hearing aids. In my opinion, the audiology industry has overcharged seniors for hearing aids for a very long time. Some of these are hearing aids are thousands of dollars. Furthermore, the battery life of hearing aids is ridiculously short. Most of the time, based what I've read & experienced, seniors don't wear these hearing aids.

So, I am asking for help.

I am wanting to buy bluetooth-looking hearing amplifiers. I am not interested in the ones that fit inside the ear canal. I know this is a rather odd statement, but some of these hearing amplifiers come with lithium-ion batteries. Initially, I thought this was a great idea. However, lithium-ion batteries have a history of catching on fire. I would really like to keep my ears intact. Some models actually have nickel-hydride rechargeable batteries.

Noise-cancelling models are a must.

I found some Sony hearing amplifiers; however, I am still unsure if there are better models. There are many models to choose from on the internet & in stores.

I would like to buy decent ear amplifiers with as much fidelity as possible. I am expecting to pay around $300.

Please, give me some suggestions about models, pros/cons, etc.

High Fidelity Receiver - America Hears

Evaluation of high-fidelity hearing aids - PubMed

Thank you.

 

[MiCon]

My first suggestion would be to discuss this with an ear doctor. Seriously, he/ she might have some valuable input as to what the pros and cons are, and might be able to suggest some products that will satisfy your needs.

I hope you find something useful.

 

[pinballwiz86]

You can try the PocketTalker Ultra Duo sound amplifier. It's $190 online. It works really well. You can plug a bluetooth receiver into the headphone jack so you don't have to use the wired headset.

 

[wtp]

i wonder where your nephew got the 'information' on the half hour thing.
i am 65 years old and can hear my neighbor talk on his lanai that is 70 feet away.
no, i did not go to concerts as a kid. but i bet your nephew can't do even that now.
the damage takes time so let's sit back and wait.
and don't you do what my father in law did, crank the TV to max to listen as the damage will still happen even now.

 

[K7MEM]

I started listening to extremely loud music in 1969. My nephew, who is in a metal band called Astringency, told me that stepping outside of a loud concert for around 30 minutes helps reduce the likelihood of leveled hair cells. Unfortunately, I did not have this knowledge when I was growing up.

I don't know about that recommendation. And, certainly don't follow anything I did, or do.

I listened to every rock group I could in that era. For me, it was a quick train ride to get to the Fillmore East. And there was Woodstock in 1969 and Strawberry Fields Music Festival in 1970. I recall a Pink Floyd concert in Radio City Music Hall, in 1973. We didn't realize it, until it got out, that we could not hear the subway trains. It took about an hour for us to recognize them again. It was a very quiet ride home.

One of my ears is more sensitive than the other and I have a constant ring (tinnitus) in both ears, but I can still easily hear "almost" everything. When I am listening to my vinyl, I just turn it up a little bit more to cover the tinnitus. I say "almost" because, sometimes I just don't pay close attention to what is being said. At 75, I listen to TV at a very low level and I still operate CW (Morse Code), which is all about tone recognition amongst noise and interference.

My trouble is mostly with crowds. When my XYL (wife) gets together with her sister and cousins, they sit around a table and all talk at the same time. Then I can't make out a single word. But that has always been a issue with me.

My only recommendation is to, learn to live with it and/or see a qualified doctor.

i am 65 years old and can hear my neighbor talk on his lanai that is 70 feet away.

Sound can travel pretty far in some areas. In the early 80's, I lived in Germany and rented a house in some farm country. We were about 10 miles outside of Zweibrucken AFB (returned to Germany in 1990). In the early evening we could go outside and clearly hear everyone at the soccer game that was happening on the edge of town. We were about 1 mile from the soccer field.

 

[wtp]

i agree on the sound travel thing as when the wind blows right i also hear the crowd from the baseball field also a mile away.
told the wife one night about a noise that sounded like a car accident.
it came across the scanner a minute later and was 1.25 away.
the wife has an appointment with an ear guy shortly.
my hearing is fine, i figure i just pay better attention or different attention.
i had a stroke in 2012 that deafened me in my right ear, and that took a couple of months to go away.
i would say that part is back to normal.
i spent no real time at something that loud. she did.
keep it low. and enjoy the CW.

 

[Ensnared]

My first suggestion would be to discuss this with an ear doctor. Seriously, he/ she might have some valuable input as to what the pros and cons are, and might be able to suggest some products that will satisfy your needs.

I hope you find something useful.

Thank you for your response. I am still sitting on the fence. I went to Best Buy for curiosity. Like usual, they did not have these in stock. When he looked online, the Sony brand was near $800.

You see, I had to finally use the "senior citizen" ear phone to hear the words during Church. These work great, but as expected, the fidelity of these is less than desirable. I play and listen to music.

 

[Ensnared]

You can try the PocketTalker Ultra Duo sound amplifier. It's $190 online. It works really well. You can plug a bluetooth receiver into the headphone jack so you don't have to use the wired headset.

From what I have experienced on my SDS 100, there is a slight delay in the signal with the BT adapter I am using. I will look into this and see what features it has. Thank you for your response.

 

[Ensnared]

i wonder where your nephew got the 'information' on the half hour thing.
i am 65 years old and can hear my neighbor talk on his lanai that is 70 feet away.
no, i did not go to concerts as a kid. but i bet your nephew can't do even that now.
the damage takes time so let's sit back and wait.
and don't you do what my father in law did, crank the TV to max to listen as the damage will still happen even now.

Aaron has a degree in music & recording. He works at a recording studio at Texas Tech. Aaron has no measurable ear loss. He has religiously followed this guideline. He plays guitar in front of a Peavy 5150 brain coupled with half stacks. In concerts, he wears protective ear devices specific for musicians.

We went to a concert at the House of Blues in Dallas. The music was so loud, you could feel the pressure on your chest. At times, it felt hard to catch your breath. Metal bands are an exception to the rule regarding decibels.

Thank you for responding.

 

[wtp]

i had a question, you had an answer, thanks.
there is no like button, so this is my way of sending one.

 

[TGuelker]

As a (now retired) mechanic, I wore no hearing protection for over 45 years. My hearing has suffered quite a lot. My wife didn’t like the SDS200 cranked up so I could hear it. Now running a ProScan server on a mini PC that sends audio to a Bluetooth earbud. I have to have one ear open to hear my wife. .
As for the lithium battery exploding in your ear, it would do just as much damage a few inches away. Most all lithium battery thermal events happen while charging, so the earbuds won’t be in your ear then.
I remember going to confession as a child, and having to speak loudly into a box the priest had attached to his shirt.
Hearing aids have come a long way.