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Hearing Tests


Dutchman

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I was wondering if I’m in the minority of testing my hearing? Anyone else test their hearing? I do a online test with head phones that does not compare to a visit to a audiologist, but gives me an idea of how my hearing is aging. I shuttered my studio after discovering I had lost range in my hearing. To many fun times rocking out I guess!! 

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I've had mine tested about 5 or 6 times throughout my life.  The last few times it was free.  I guess they do that to get you in the door.  I have several of the charts of my hearing and the loss is significant and noticeable from each one to the next.  This is the year I finally get hearing aids.  I elected to set aside a good bit of money in an HSA to pay for them and save some money on taxes.  I still play but I use custom-fit molded earplugs when I do.  I'll be getting a new set of those this year as well.

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I began losing my hearing when I was in the USAF 35 years ago. They tested my hearing and I had suffered a significant loss in high frequency sensitivity in my right ear, and I have tinnitus constantly in my left ear and on and off in my right ear. They said that even with the hearing protection that we wore, the amount of time spent in close proximity to the running jet engines was still a hazard to hearing. I'm sure they were right, it had nothing to do with the guitars, bands, the bi-amped M-85’s, and SDA-SRS’s...

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25 minutes ago, gtrdaddy said:

I began losing my hearing when I was in the USAF 35 years ago. They tested my hearing and I had suffered a significant loss in high frequency sensitivity in my right ear, and I have tinnitus constantly in my left ear and on and off in my right ear. They said that even with the hearing protection that we wore, the amount of time spent in close proximity to the running jet engines was still a hazard to hearing. I'm sure they were right, it had nothing to do with the guitars, bands, the bi-amped M-85’s, and SDA-SRS’s...

It’s hard to reply to your reply with an emoji. Sad that you’re suffering with hearing issues but the ending statement made me laugh. 

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I had mine tested a year or so ago. I was surprised to learn that, even with tinnitus in both ears and the high end fried out,  I didn't need hearing aids.....yet. Crowded/noisy rooms are the worst. Smile and nod, smile and nod.

Now, I wear earplugs at band rehearsals and jams, and carry them with me just in case. The damage is done but keeping it from getting worse is a priority. I have a pair that are supposed to knock the level down over the entire frequency range, but they still sound like you have your fingers in your ears. Small sacrifice, I guess.

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Just now, Dutchman said:

It’s hard to reply to your reply with an emoji. Sad that you’re suffering with hearing issues but the ending statement made me laugh. 

Heh? Heh? Heh?

Seriously it’s more of a nuisance than anything else. I do say “heh” and “what?” to my wife a hundred times a day, she thinks I’m ignoring her and it’s a great excuse for getting out of shit.

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1 minute ago, hamerhead said:

I didn't need hearing aids.....yet. Crowded/noisy rooms are the worst. Smile and nod, smile and nod.

Now, I wear earplugs at band rehearsals and jams, and carry them with me just in case. The damage is done but keeping it from getting worse is a priority. I have a pair that are supposed to knock the level down over the entire frequency range, but they still sound like you have your fingers in your ears. Small sacrifice, I guess.

Pretty much the same here. Except my wife always says “stop yelling”, and why are you talking so loud?”

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56 minutes ago, gtrdaddy said:

I began losing my hearing when I was in the USAF 35 years ago. They tested my hearing and I had suffered a significant loss in high frequency sensitivity in my right ear, and I have tinnitus constantly in my left ear and on and off in my right ear. They said that even with the hearing protection that we wore, the amount of time spent in close proximity to the running jet engines was still a hazard to hearing. I'm sure they were right, it had nothing to do with the guitars, bands, the bi-amped M-85’s, and SDA-SRS’s...

Same experience with me. Developed tinnitus in both and HF roll off in one due to proximity to jet engines in the USAF.  Amps and cymbals certainly haven’t helped. I dont play way loud anymore. It is why I have moved to smaller amps the Bassman stays low and clean or attenuated if I crank it. Same with the tweed Deluxe at home. 5e3s go from off to loud fast. Stopping gigging to focus on recording has helped but I am careful at jams and even when recording to isolate the cranked amp if it is a big one. In ear sound isolating Shure ear buds are great. They completely shut off anything except what I have in the DAW monitor, and I control that volume. I can stand in front of a dimed Bassman and I don’t hear it except when I nudge up the volume on my DAW. Anyway I digress. Tinnitus and any hearing loss sucks and is indeed counterintuitive for a musician. 
We all love it loud cause guitars sound great LOUD...that is where the sustain lies....yet that same loudness can hurt us and keep us from hearing that very music we love.  Almost ironic. 

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3 hours ago, Studio Custom said:

Musicians playing so loud as to hurt their hearing is counterintuitive.

 

11 minutes ago, The Shark said:

It's stupid too.

Agreed. I do believe the term young and dumb applied to most of us at least at one point in time.

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3 hours ago, Studio Custom said:

Musicians playing so loud as to hurt their hearing is counterintuitive.

 

15 minutes ago, The Shark said:

It's stupid too.

 

Yeah, but it is rock and roll.  As a teenager you have to play loud.  In your 20's you try to play loud.  After than you discover in-ear monitors and modeling amps. 

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51 minutes ago, Steve Haynie said:

Yeah, but it is rock and roll.  As a teenager you have to play loud.  In your 20's you try to play loud.  After than you discover in-ear monitors and modeling amps. 

Our band just started trying to go more towards in ears with modeling amps DI'd. It's a different experience for sure, and I have to admit that old habits die hard. I miss having a big rig (aka glorified stage monitor) behind me pushing air :)  On the other hand, schlepping that stuff around gets old too.

I've used hearing protection since young, but developed problems with my eustachian tubes later in life due to TMJ, and so I'm now among others saying "what? huh?" and having my wife tell me I'm talking too loud. Of course, I can always just cite my big loud Italian family heritage with regard to the latter lol.

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I had a hearing test when I was 26 or so. Had the classic dip in the upper mid range.  Audiologist: Yepp, you're gonna need hearing aids one day. 

 

That day was 2 years ago. 

 

 

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Don't need to check my hearing; it's been messed up since I was 19 years old thanks to 155 batteries when I was working on helicopter re-arm at a fire base outside of DaNang almost 50 years ago. 

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22 hours ago, gtrdaddy said:

 she thinks I’m ignoring her and it’s a great excuse for getting out of shit.

Yep, selective hearing loss. 

I was accused of it by my wife, just wish I had been smart enough to think of it before her.😄

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I've been wearing a hearing aid in my left ear for 4 or 5 years now.  There is a narrowing of the ear canal.  The right one is normal, given the ageing process.  Aided or unaided, background noise is a big problem.  I hate noisy restaurants.

Interestingly, my maternal grandfather, my mom, and my aunt could all hear better with their right ear than their left.

Wives are a different problem.  She insists that I have a problem when I'm in the kitchen with the water running and she's talking to me from the living room.  Funny, she can't hear me when the roles are reversed even with her excellent hearing. :) 

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On 2/7/2020 at 1:14 PM, Steve Haynie said:

 

 

Yeah, but it is rock and roll.  As a teenager you have to play loud.  In your 20's you try to play loud.  After than you discover in-ear monitors and modeling amps. 

Now, when we turn on everything at practice we always say "Wow, we were playing pretty loud last week"!!!  

We start our quiet and inch our way up on the knobs.  Mostly the bass player's fault.  And he's not here to defend himself!

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I do have problems with my eustachian tubes.  Never had allergies until I was in my late forties.  Now, I clog up in one ear or both about twice a year.  It takes about a week to ten days to get them to clear.  My EEN&T doc told me to never try to blow them open.  It actually increases the discomfort and the time to clear the tubes.  Just take a decongestant and wait.  

Played one gig with one ear closed.  It was the left ear and I'm stage right.  All I could hear was myself and the drummer.  Sucked.

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Hearing issues, tinnitus, etc do suck. We've had to take mandatory annual audiograms where I work at. Now I wear hearing aids and can opt out of that since I regularly visit an audiologist. While you can't fix hearing loss, you can make things a lot better... Hearing aids are life changing. 

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I went to an audiologist about a year ago.  I've got no hearing loss for the ranges they check, but I do have tinnitus like a motherfucker - up at about 13K (thanks, cymbals!).  Apparently, testing above 9K isn't standard because, well "only musicians care about that stuff.

🤨

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I'll be going to an audiologist in the near future for a test and fitting for custom ear filters. I recently joined a Wind Symphony playing trombone, and they are GOD DAMN LOUD.  The conductor is a brass player, like myself, and wants us to bring the thunder, so we will, but I think it's time to get some plugs so I can knock off 5 or 10 db but still have good fidelity.

Now, playing a brass instrument with earplugs CAN be maddening, because what many don't realize is that the air INSIDE of your body is vibrating too. So like with talking when wearing earplugs, too much attenuation, and you end up hearing the sound inside your body louder than the sound outside.

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  • cmatthes changed the title to Hearing Tests

 I haven't had my hearing tested in quite a while.  Last time, the drop-off wasn't too severe, but it was there.  I've been wearing plugs to shows for years now - they do help.  I still usually take them out a few times per show for favorite songs.  I used to try to balance out the perceived loss of high end by not putting them in all the way, but I've found lately that if I put them in fully (you know, like the instructions say?), that it makes the mix clearer.

My current weapon of choice is Vibes.  I have a pair that I take to shows, and my older pair stays in the car now in case I forget.  There are a couple others that look interesting, too.  I keep threatening to do the custom molded ones.  One of these days.

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