My wife's been after me for decades to get my hearing tested. I've resisted until now because only old people need hearing aids. Turns out that I have a hearing loss pattern that's typical of congenital hearing loss. I had thought it was from too many model airplane motors in my youth. On reflection, it's consistent with my Dad's hearing loss, which _he_ attributed to ear surgery when he was three. So, I'm back from the audiologist with a loaner pair of hearing aids. The part about being hyper-aware of all sorts of formerly-unnoticed sounds is kinda like being on acid, except it's only hearing and not sight, smell, taste or cognition. But I'm hearing all these bumps and ticks and thumps -- I think the house is haunted. -- www.wescottdesign.com
Ooooh, trippy! But I think my house is haunted
Started by ●February 27, 2017
Reply by ●February 27, 20172017-02-27
Tim Wescott wrote:> My wife's been after me for decades to get my hearing tested. I've > resisted until now because only old people need hearing aids. > > Turns out that I have a hearing loss pattern that's typical of congenital > hearing loss. I had thought it was from too many model airplane motors > in my youth. On reflection, it's consistent with my Dad's hearing loss, > which _he_ attributed to ear surgery when he was three. > > So, I'm back from the audiologist with a loaner pair of hearing aids. > The part about being hyper-aware of all sorts of formerly-unnoticed > sounds is kinda like being on acid, except it's only hearing and not > sight, smell, taste or cognition. But I'm hearing all these bumps and > ticks and thumps -- I think the house is haunted. >MAAAAN, you ought to hear our place. it is panelized construction, so the walls come on a truck, with the wiring and windows pre-installed, they tip them up and nail in place. Then a crane drops the plywood box-beam into place and they set the roof panels onto the walls and center beam. Those big panels creep around with temperature changes and can make HUGE noises. Sounds like a giant is ripping the roof off the place. Down in the basement, it sounds like an elephant is dancing upstairs. So many times, while working in the basement, I went upstairs to see who was there, and there's nobody home. (No hearing aids involved.) Jon
Reply by ●February 27, 20172017-02-27
On Mon, 27 Feb 2017 17:15:30 -0600, Tim Wescott <tim@seemywebsite.really> wrote:>My wife's been after me for decades to get my hearing tested. I've >resisted until now because only old people need hearing aids. > >Turns out that I have a hearing loss pattern that's typical of congenital >hearing loss. I had thought it was from too many model airplane motors >in my youth. On reflection, it's consistent with my Dad's hearing loss, >which _he_ attributed to ear surgery when he was three. > >So, I'm back from the audiologist with a loaner pair of hearing aids. >The part about being hyper-aware of all sorts of formerly-unnoticed >sounds is kinda like being on acid, except it's only hearing and not >sight, smell, taste or cognition. But I'm hearing all these bumps and >ticks and thumps -- I think the house is haunted.My old Directv STB had a bug, it would turn on randomly. It turned on at 2 - 4AM a few times. And the volume was pretty loud too. Lots of hesitant tip-toeing ;) until it was sorted out. Cheers
Reply by ●February 27, 20172017-02-27
On Mon, 27 Feb 2017 17:15:30 -0600, Tim Wescott <tim@seemywebsite.really> wrote:>My wife's been after me for decades to get my hearing tested. I've >resisted until now because only old people need hearing aids. > >Turns out that I have a hearing loss pattern that's typical of congenital >hearing loss. I had thought it was from too many model airplane motors >in my youth. On reflection, it's consistent with my Dad's hearing loss, >which _he_ attributed to ear surgery when he was three. > >So, I'm back from the audiologist with a loaner pair of hearing aids. >The part about being hyper-aware of all sorts of formerly-unnoticed >sounds is kinda like being on acid, except it's only hearing and not >sight, smell, taste or cognition. But I'm hearing all these bumps and >ticks and thumps -- I think the house is haunted. > >-- >www.wescottdesign.comDo you have any control over the equalization? Would be fun to mess with, I think. A technician I used to work with had pretty substantial hearing loss, particularly at higher frequencies. Once in the lab a piece of test equipment started a high-pitched alarm tone for some reason, and since it wasn't anything I was working on I was ignoring it, but was trying to converse with my partially-deaf technician. He seemed a little pained for a bit and then asked me, "Is there a loud tone or something going on right now?" I told him there was, and even though he couldn't hear it what he had noticed was that the AGC in his hearing aid had suddenly turned everything way down. He'd experienced that enough to know the probable cause. That was probably twenty-five years ago. My understanding is that the DSP in hearing aids is pretty sophisticated these days, but I don't know how much control they give the user. --- This email has been checked for viruses by Avast antivirus software. https://www.avast.com/antivirus
Reply by ●February 27, 20172017-02-27
On Mon, 27 Feb 2017 17:15:30 -0600, Tim Wescott <tim@seemywebsite.really> wrote:>My wife's been after me for decades to get my hearing tested. I've >resisted until now because only old people need hearing aids. > >Turns out that I have a hearing loss pattern that's typical of congenital >hearing loss. I had thought it was from too many model airplane motors >in my youth. On reflection, it's consistent with my Dad's hearing loss, >which _he_ attributed to ear surgery when he was three. > >So, I'm back from the audiologist with a loaner pair of hearing aids. >The part about being hyper-aware of all sorts of formerly-unnoticed >sounds is kinda like being on acid, except it's only hearing and not >sight, smell, taste or cognition. But I'm hearing all these bumps and >ticks and thumps -- I think the house is haunted.Don't get Oticon... too much highs that they can't tone done... like having a differentiator in the audio path :-( What brand are the loaners? I'm considering trying other brands. ...Jim Thompson -- | James E.Thompson | mens | | Analog Innovations | et | | Analog/Mixed-Signal ASIC's and Discrete Systems | manus | | STV, Queen Creek, AZ 85142 Skype: skypeanalog | | | Voice:(480)460-2350 Fax: Available upon request | Brass Rat | | E-mail Icon at http://www.analog-innovations.com | 1962 | Thinking outside the box... producing elegant solutions.
Reply by ●February 27, 20172017-02-27
On 27/02/17 23:15, Tim Wescott wrote:> My wife's been after me for decades to get my hearing tested. I've > resisted until now because only old people need hearing aids. > > Turns out that I have a hearing loss pattern that's typical of congenital > hearing loss. I had thought it was from too many model airplane motors > in my youth. On reflection, it's consistent with my Dad's hearing loss, > which _he_ attributed to ear surgery when he was three. > > So, I'm back from the audiologist with a loaner pair of hearing aids. > The part about being hyper-aware of all sorts of formerly-unnoticed > sounds is kinda like being on acid, except it's only hearing and not > sight, smell, taste or cognition. But I'm hearing all these bumps and > ticks and thumps -- I think the house is haunted.Welcome to a club you didn't want to join. If you have a look at manufacturer's catalogues, there are a vast number of different hearing aids, all of which are customised to your hearing loss and ear canal. How to choose the "best" one for you is something I simply don't understand. The key issue is that the ear/bain combination is one of the most non-linear systems I know of. A "nasty" of course is the replacement cost, because one way or another they /will/ breakdown or be lost (I know of people whose dogs ate their hearing aid!).
Reply by ●February 27, 20172017-02-27
On 28/02/17 00:27, eric.jacobsen@ieee.org wrote:> On Mon, 27 Feb 2017 17:15:30 -0600, Tim Wescott > <tim@seemywebsite.really> wrote: > >> My wife's been after me for decades to get my hearing tested. I've >> resisted until now because only old people need hearing aids. >> >> Turns out that I have a hearing loss pattern that's typical of congenital >> hearing loss. I had thought it was from too many model airplane motors >> in my youth. On reflection, it's consistent with my Dad's hearing loss, >> which _he_ attributed to ear surgery when he was three. >> >> So, I'm back from the audiologist with a loaner pair of hearing aids. >> The part about being hyper-aware of all sorts of formerly-unnoticed >> sounds is kinda like being on acid, except it's only hearing and not >> sight, smell, taste or cognition. But I'm hearing all these bumps and >> ticks and thumps -- I think the house is haunted. >> >> -- >> www.wescottdesign.com > > > Do you have any control over the equalization? Would be fun to mess > with, I think. > > A technician I used to work with had pretty substantial hearing loss, > particularly at higher frequencies. Once in the lab a piece of test > equipment started a high-pitched alarm tone for some reason, and since > it wasn't anything I was working on I was ignoring it, but was trying > to converse with my partially-deaf technician. He seemed a little > pained for a bit and then asked me, "Is there a loud tone or something > going on right now?" I told him there was, and even though he > couldn't hear it what he had noticed was that the AGC in his hearing > aid had suddenly turned everything way down. He'd experienced that > enough to know the probable cause. > > That was probably twenty-five years ago. My understanding is that > the DSP in hearing aids is pretty sophisticated these days, but I > don't know how much control they give the user.Whatever they do, it won't be enough! The ear/brain combination is astoundingly non-linear. In practice it is sufficient to have half a dozen variations (speech, music, wind, sports, etc) - and then simply to cycle through them until the least problematic variant is found for that locale.
Reply by ●February 27, 20172017-02-27
On 28/02/17 00:30, Jim Thompson wrote:> On Mon, 27 Feb 2017 17:15:30 -0600, Tim Wescott > <tim@seemywebsite.really> wrote: > >> My wife's been after me for decades to get my hearing tested. I've >> resisted until now because only old people need hearing aids. >> >> Turns out that I have a hearing loss pattern that's typical of congenital >> hearing loss. I had thought it was from too many model airplane motors >> in my youth. On reflection, it's consistent with my Dad's hearing loss, >> which _he_ attributed to ear surgery when he was three. >> >> So, I'm back from the audiologist with a loaner pair of hearing aids. >> The part about being hyper-aware of all sorts of formerly-unnoticed >> sounds is kinda like being on acid, except it's only hearing and not >> sight, smell, taste or cognition. But I'm hearing all these bumps and >> ticks and thumps -- I think the house is haunted. > > Don't get Oticon... too much highs that they can't tone done... like > having a differentiator in the audio path :-(May well be true for your ears, and completely inappropriate for Tim's ears. Generalisations are impossible in this topic.> What brand are the loaners? I'm considering trying other brands.Suck-it-and-see is the order of the day with hearing aids.
Reply by ●February 27, 20172017-02-27
On 2/27/2017 7:15 PM, Tom Gardner wrote:> On 28/02/17 00:27, eric.jacobsen@ieee.org wrote: >> On Mon, 27 Feb 2017 17:15:30 -0600, Tim Wescott >> <tim@seemywebsite.really> wrote: >> >>> My wife's been after me for decades to get my hearing tested. I've >>> resisted until now because only old people need hearing aids. >>> >>> Turns out that I have a hearing loss pattern that's typical of >>> congenital >>> hearing loss. I had thought it was from too many model airplane motors >>> in my youth. On reflection, it's consistent with my Dad's hearing loss, >>> which _he_ attributed to ear surgery when he was three. >>> >>> So, I'm back from the audiologist with a loaner pair of hearing aids. >>> The part about being hyper-aware of all sorts of formerly-unnoticed >>> sounds is kinda like being on acid, except it's only hearing and not >>> sight, smell, taste or cognition. But I'm hearing all these bumps and >>> ticks and thumps -- I think the house is haunted. >>> >>> -- >>> www.wescottdesign.com >> >> >> Do you have any control over the equalization? Would be fun to mess >> with, I think. >> >> A technician I used to work with had pretty substantial hearing loss, >> particularly at higher frequencies. Once in the lab a piece of test >> equipment started a high-pitched alarm tone for some reason, and since >> it wasn't anything I was working on I was ignoring it, but was trying >> to converse with my partially-deaf technician. He seemed a little >> pained for a bit and then asked me, "Is there a loud tone or something >> going on right now?" I told him there was, and even though he >> couldn't hear it what he had noticed was that the AGC in his hearing >> aid had suddenly turned everything way down. He'd experienced that >> enough to know the probable cause. >> >> That was probably twenty-five years ago. My understanding is that >> the DSP in hearing aids is pretty sophisticated these days, but I >> don't know how much control they give the user. > > Whatever they do, it won't be enough! The ear/brain > combination is astoundingly non-linear. > > In practice it is sufficient to have half a dozen > variations (speech, music, wind, sports, etc) - and then > simply to cycle through them until the least problematic > variant is found for that locale. >I'm impressed with how well Rush Limbaugh does with his cochlear implants. I wonder how long it took him to learn to understand phone call audio. (possibly easier than regular speech with room noise) Mikek --- This email has been checked for viruses by Avast antivirus software. https://www.avast.com/antivirus
Reply by ●February 28, 20172017-02-28
On 2/27/2017 8:08 PM, Tom Gardner wrote:> On 27/02/17 23:15, Tim Wescott wrote: >> My wife's been after me for decades to get my hearing tested. I've >> resisted until now because only old people need hearing aids. >> >> Turns out that I have a hearing loss pattern that's typical of congenital >> hearing loss. I had thought it was from too many model airplane motors >> in my youth. On reflection, it's consistent with my Dad's hearing loss, >> which _he_ attributed to ear surgery when he was three. >> >> So, I'm back from the audiologist with a loaner pair of hearing aids. >> The part about being hyper-aware of all sorts of formerly-unnoticed >> sounds is kinda like being on acid, except it's only hearing and not >> sight, smell, taste or cognition. But I'm hearing all these bumps and >> ticks and thumps -- I think the house is haunted. > > Welcome to a club you didn't want to join. > > If you have a look at manufacturer's catalogues, there > are a vast number of different hearing aids, all of > which are customised to your hearing loss and ear canal.I've talked to some people in the field and I've never gotten a good idea of just what is required to fit a hearing aid to the person. I get that the hearing loss is unique to each person. That is essentially controlled by an equalizer to tailor the frequency response to the user's hearing loss. But what aspect of the ear canal needs to be custom tailored to? Are you talking about a mechanical fit issue? I don't follow that. My friend's hearing aids have replaceable ear pieces just like many bluetooth headphones. They are not tailored at all. Is it a matter of the ear canal affecting how the unit works with that person? Inquiring minds want to know.> How to choose the "best" one for you is something > I simply don't understand. The key issue is that > the ear/bain combination is one of the most non-linear > systems I know of. > > A "nasty" of course is the replacement cost, > because one way or another they /will/ breakdown > or be lost (I know of people whose dogs ate their > hearing aid!). >-- Rick C
