Losing my hearing

[RichDoyle]

In May, 1966 we were unexpectedly trotted off to the pistol range by our collective Army NCO's. For unknown reasons we didn't have earplugs as part of the uniform of the day, which was unusual. They shrugged off suggestions that we go back to the barracks to get 'em. As luck would have it, I was in that first 8-10 guys to stand up at the firing line and start firing those crappy old 1911 Colts. At the first volley my left ear started ringing and hasn't stopped since.

The years and heredity have caught up to both ears, but not in a terribly severe way. Now that we have far better radios in our aircraft than the junk we used to have AND are all wearing headsets of some type I have no problems hearing and understanding ATC. But noisy parties/bars, etc? Fuggedaboutit. Lip-reading is the order of the day.

 

[bigjohnsd]

Tinnitus is my friend, I'm never alone, always hearing something :l

 

[TheZsdad]

I'd welcome you to the club Gary but it ain't really one I want anyone to join. I've been living with hearing loss and tinnitus for 46 years. I worked at at a gas station while in high school. I'm cleaning the bathrooms one night, you know they have not changed much over the years. Sheet metal walls and tile floors small space. Guy I worked with thought it would be funny to toss a cherry bomb in there and close the door. I've heard people call them M80's. I can tell you it wasn't that funny. I hate wearing ear plugs and mostly haven't but the guys preaching to wear them are right. My hearing loss and tinnitus are worse since I started riding again (about 8 years ago). I have a fear that hearing aids will make the tinnitus worse which is hard to deal with now. My wife wants me to get the hearings aids so I can hear her better. Think I will put it off as long as possible. But I am trying to get use to ear plugs.

 

[Greg 03]

Been thinking a lot about this lately myself. I'm wanting to try some of the molded ear plugs because pretty much anything I insert whether foam, rubber, or whatever ends up hurting my ears. Anybody tried the ones you buy in a kit then mold yourself?

 

[TripperMike]

I now know why I like getting together with you folks for rides. You all speak loud enough for me to hear ya.

Perhaps we could have an emoticon with a funnel held to it's ear.

For me, I've been hearing crickets (thousands of them bastages) 24/7 for about a dozen years now. Funny how the winters up here can't seem to kill them off. I quess it was one of those fringe benefits of having a cabinet shop during the week and bench rest shooting on the weekends.

I'll admit I am one of those who should get aids but hasn't, and I can say that that has had a negative effect at work. People you work with tend to get tired of having to repeat themselves constantly, and needless to say, not all of my responses are exactly on target with something they may have asked. Go figure huh? And yeah, lip reading is the order of the day, but even that isn't always enough if in a noisey environment.

 

[Aasland]

A couple things nobody has mentioned yet:

• When you get your hearing aids, your brain will need to learn to hear again. They should be set to a lower amplification at first, to let your brain adjust to filtering out the little annoying sounds, like the air in your heating vents, etc. You will then make several trips back to your audiologist over the course of your first year to increase the amplification. Make sure you consider this cost when you price out the hearing aids.
• Humidity kills hearing aids, and being next to your skin, there is a lot of humidity. Look for hearing aids that have that NeverWet nano-coating. Get a hearing-aid-dehumidifer-jar like this for traveling; get something beefier like this for home use.
• Don't reject your hearing aids until you've had them a few months and gotten used to them.
• Hearing aids are expensive to repair and replace. Consider extended warranties and "personal items" home-owners insurance riders.
• The more expensive units have better directional filtering abilities in noisy places (like restaurants). You should expect your hearing aids to last at least five years; longer if taken care of.
• Get the "open fit" style of hearing aids if possible. These minimize the occlusion effect, which greatly improves comfort.
• Music will sound like crap because hearing aids only amplify frequencies where speech are (except for the SeboTek's which have full-range amplification)
• Nobody cares if you wear hearing aids. Don't hide them. They don't make you look old or ugly. They are not gross or embarassing. Your friends and family will thank you.
• Asking people to speak up, or missing out on conversations, or making up questions because you think you understood the question is annoying for everyone else around you and THAT is what makes you look old and vain.
• You can use healthcare spending accounts to pay for hearing aids

Just to reiterate what others have said: protect the hearing you have left, too. And if you don't have hearing problems and are reading this anyway, protect your hearing. Tinnitus sucks.

I've had a hearing problem my whole life; doctors suspect nerve damage. But when I was young (80's) the hearing aids sucked donkey rump so I managed to get by, for the most part. I still lost out on a lot of social cues and annoyed everyone around me. I could only date girls who spoke loud (and thus limited the pool of available girls). It wasn't until I was about 35 years old and starting consulting around the world, teaching and helping customers who spoke english poorly, in less-than-stellar environments, that I realized success in my career would require hearing aids. $5k later I had a pair of SeboTek open-fit's that were very comfortable to wear. Not only can I better understand my customers, but I found I use a lot less of my brain filling in what my ears didn't hear. I could instead focus on what the person is really saying, picking up non-verbal clues, etc.

I even convinced my dad to start wearing his hearing aids again, and he requested (and received) a new pair of the Open-Fit ones too (he lives in a socialist/welfare country where his medical insurance covers all medical devices).

Funny story: I had a dimwit roommate in college who asked about my hearing loss. I mentioned my dad lost a bit of his hearing in the military (infantry; no hearing protection) and she said "oh so that's why your hearing is bad!". I responded along the lines of "yeah, glad he didn't get an arm blown off, I'd be born without an arm".

There are lots of hearing aid users on this board; I'm sure you'll get lots more great advice.

 

[Last Chance]

I started going deaf in my late 20's...Two operations, 1 success and 1 failure. However, the "success" set me up for total deafness in that ear 20 years later while on an airliner.. Now, very little hearing left in the remaining ear.. It sucks, especially when one loses one's hearing completely in one's ear it doesn't diminish the tinnitus in that ear...It raises it to the level of a pack of banshees from hell. Next thing will be a cochlear implant, if I live that long... You get used to it.. I just wish it were "quiet", I could use some peace and quiet.

 

[Pterodactyl]

27 years in the Army turning tax dollars into loud noises and smoke. Just had my hearing tested and no aids recommended. Dr. of Audiology said I can tell my wife and daughter that it is not that I cannot hear them, it is I chose not to hear them.

 

[bigjohnsd]

My hearing aids actually lessen the tinnitus when I'm wearing them.

I think it is because there is actually something to hear at the same frequencies that I hear the tinnitus buzz at.

Anyway, tinnitus is ever present without the hearing aids, worse when trying to go to sleep.

 

[Pterodactyl]

.

 

[clocklaw]

My son is hearing impaired......been wearing hearing aids since he was 3 (he will be 22 next month, was likely born with tinnitus). Just bought him a new set about 3 months ago (his Christmas/Birthday/Christmas/Birthday/Christmas/Birthday present). It was very stressful to know that their price had more than doubled since the last set we bought him. no insurance will touch them in Tennessee, no state assistance, nothing. He hears so much better with them and I can do without hearing for a few more years.

 

[Aasland]

There is an upside to hearing loss (beyond not having to pretend that you didn't hear the wife...) and that is. with the aids turned off, it's really easy to tune stuff out. I sleep like a log, I don't hear all the little creaks and rattles in our cars.

Back when I had closed-fit units they acted as mediocre earplugs. When I was working in our computer lab it was nice to be able to turn them off and stop listening to all the fans blowing. Still needed earmuffs when working behind the power 795's, though ...

 

[garyahouse]

Uhhh, what can I say? Wow. I didn't expect all that. I've been awful busy with school as of late and haven't gotten back to this thread since the moment I pushed "POST." Thank you so much for all the input. I just picked up a set of custom molded ear monitors from a company called, "DBplugz... while at the track at Daytona. They were one of the vendors located by Midway Ave at the Northeast end of the track. They fitted me up right there, did a very professional job, and promised my Plugz in 1-2 weeks. I know these aren't hearing aids, but I wanted something to listen to music at lower levels and block out the wind noise. I wrote to ask a few questions and received this reply:

Gary,

I understand your concern and can assure you that once you receive your Plugz you will beglad you purchased them. We have been in business since 2008. We have sold hundreds of monitors since we started and have an excellent customer satisfaction track record. I am not familiar w/FJR forum. We offer a 90 day comfort and fit guarantee. We use Knowles Acoustics balanced armature drivers in our earphones. These are high-end drivers that sound phenomenal. If for some reason you experience a fit issue, we will work with you to get it resolved quickly. We have plans to add some customer testimonials to our website in the next few months. Please feel free to contact Doug Kennedy, General Manager at EuroCycles in Odessa,FL at (813) 926-9937. He and his wife have the same Plugz that you purchased and I'm sure he'd be glad to share how much they love them. Please let me know if I can provide additional references. I understand that this type of purchase is a "leap of faith" and that you have no idea what to expect. I assure you that you will LOVE your Studio Series monitors and gladly recommend them to anyone that maybe interested once you experience them first hand. To date we have only done Bike events in central Florida. We are looking to do the BMWMOA Rally in Minnesota this coming July. We can also setup customers anywhere in the country through our network of local providers. This adds approximately $25-40 for the impression cost at the local provider. Thank you again for choosing dBPlugz, we greatly appreciate your business! I have also attached your detail receipt and will send care instructions once your order ships out to you. I look forward to hearing what you think. Thanks...Mike. Michael A. Reali dBPlugz, LLC Phone: (813) 335-5601 Email: [email protected] Website: www.dbplugz.com
I wrote back a second time. I received this response the same day:

Gary,

My hours during shows like Bike Week are insane. I have never worked harder/more than I have since I started dBPlugz but I wouldn’t trade it for anything. If I remember correctly, the October Expo in Orlando conflicted with Biketoberfest which we were setup at Daytona Speedway. Some of our competitors have ridiculous pricing. We had a customer who I purchased Dual Driver acrylic monitors from one of my competitors at the BMWMOA Rally last year and paid $850. His impression of them was that they were just ok. We have never had a customer describe one of our multi-driver monitor configurations as just ok…

I am a huge audiophile and play several musical instruments. I am also extremely critical and a perfectionist as well. I have been in sales my entire professional career and have never been able to sell something that I don’t believe in. I have 5 years of experience in the Hearing Aid industry prior to launching dBPlugz. All of our custom lab products are built in a full service lab which also builds hearing aids intended to be worn 13-15 hrs/day. There is an art to the reverse casting methods that we use in our production process. My technicians nail the fit 95% of the time. Given the nature of custom-fit, every customers’ tolerance for pressure/sensitivity is different. If for any reason you are not satisfied with the fit/comfort, we will remake your Plugz using your feedback to correct any issues. The Studio Series monitors rock! I have no doubt that you will absolutely LOVE yours!!! Thank you again for your business and support! I look forward to talking soon. Thanks…Mike.

Michael A. Reali

My thoughts? Looks like I wasn't talking to a customer service rep. I was talking to the owner of the company. Gotta admit, their customer service is wonderful. Looking forward to trying them out. Hope to provide a detailed report soon.

Gary

 

[HotRodZilla]

That's cool to see. Now the big question: What'd you pay?

 

[Fred W]

One caveat for you Gary:

Using in ear monitors can exacerbate and accelerate your tinnitus and hearing loss. Even if they do a good job of attenuating the helmet / wind noise, the music is being ducted directly through your sealed ear canals to your eardrums. So even though you might sense that the music is at a pleasant volume level, it may be loud enough to cause further damage, much the same way that a hearing aid can do that.

This is one reason why I prefer to use good earplugs and helmet speakers. Although it may seem counter-intuitive since the music has to be turned up so much louder, after it is attenuated by the earplugs the sound levels actually reaching your ears will be safer.

Just be very careful to keep those volume levels down low when using the in-ear monitors, even if/when it seems a bit hard to hear the music.

 

[Aasland]

This is one reason why I prefer to use good earplugs and helmet speakers. Although it may seem counter-intuitive since the music has to be turned up so much louder, after it is attenuated by the earplugs the sound levels actually reaching your ears will be safer.

HI Fred, this works well for some people, but it has never worked for me and several other poeple I know. I would love to just use earplugs and slip on my helmet, but for my height and hearing loss, with the stock windshield, a Sena with upgraded (Tork XPro2 speakers), a quiet helmet (Bell RS-1) and decent earplugs (29+ dB NRR), there is no way I can make out speech to the point where I can listen to podcasts, and music has lost so much fidelity that it's pointless. I tried a Boostaroo and that helped, but it wasn't good enough. By 45 mph it all blends together with the wind noise.

Just be very careful to keep those volume levels down low when using the in-ear monitors, even if/when it seems a bit hard to hear the music.

That's the beauty of custom molded earplugs. With wind noise eliminated there is no need to turn up the volume. I usually find that 1-2 (on a scale of 10) is sufficient. Anything higher than that indicates the plugs don't fit right and isn't sealing out the wind noise.

 

[Fred W]

Understand that it is a compromise at best, and no one solution is the right answer for everyone. I would love to have the improved fidelity and clarity of in-ear monitors.

That said, the thread started because Gary is concerned about hearing loss. I'm just pointing out that there is added risk to increasing that hearing loss by using in ear speakers.

You pay yer money and you take yer chances!

 

[garyahouse]

Zilla:

Cost? They're 300 for the standard units, 420 for the dual speaker units, and a good deal more than that for upper end ones with upwards to 8 speakers in each one. Keep in mind that these are made primarily for studio musicians. They are indeed pricey, but comparable to other manufacturers making similar units. Things like wires that can be unplugged and Knowles Acoustics balanced armature drivers drive the cost up somewhat. The wires used inside each one are rather pricey as well, but they're more durable to prevent breakage as the units are twisted in and out of your ears. I didn't want something on the low end of the spectrum, so the extra quality (at an extra cost) is worth it to me. But then again, from what I'm told, they were never intended to be the lowest priced units out there. I guess quite a few fellas bought 'em at Daytona.

Fred:

As usual, your input is appreciated. FWIW, I don't care for loud music most of the time, I just want to be able to hear it above the noise of the road. With my helmet speakers, the bass is practically no-existant. That is simply not an option for the long-term. My Klypsch S4i's CLICKY work pretty well, but they don't isolate as much outside noise as I'd like. Though the bass is well defined at rest, the faster I go, the more the bass seems to "go away." At 70 mph, due to external noise, the bass on my current ear buds doesn't come through too well. I find myself turning up the volume: something I really don't want to have to do. So you and I are on the same page, Fred. In addition, they make my ears pretty sore (as do all of the ear buds I've used over the years) after a few hours.

Anyway, It takes about 15 working days to get them, so I'll be waiting another 10 days or so.

So... thanks for the advice, and I will indeed be extra careful with the volume.

Gary

darksider #44

 

[Fred W]

There is another option that is far cheaper, will ensure proper hearing protection (which was the primary goal stated in post #1) is legal in all states AFAIK, and could improve your mental condition: Stick in some good hearing protection (ear plugs) and don't listen to any music.

I like to listen to audio entertainment as much as the next guy, but achieving high fidelity on a motorcycle seems like a futile effort to me. Even though I do have the ability to listen to MP3's when on a ride, I find that more often than not lately I'll just leave them off.

 

[CAJW]

Gary, I'm the same as many others here, music, shooting, riding, flying have all taken a toll on my hearing and now I suffer with Tinnitus 24/7. My .02 worth is that I purchased a custom set of in-ear monitors (brand name escapes me) similar to the dbplugz with the first set not fitting correctly, so a second custom mold was taken. They were better, but after a couple of days wearing them with a helmet on the road for 6-10 hours, they became bothersome. Guess it is shame on me for not pursuing a 3rd mold session, but figured they were as good as they would get so I just live with it. My Tinnitus doesn't seem to be getting any worse with my normal riding routine (Foam EAR plugs, Autocomm helmet speakers, Shoei RF1100) so I ended up not using them as much as I once did. Faster pulling the helmet on and off without dealing with the ear monitors and associated wires, but then the audio isn't as good either. Hope your purchase works out for you and that they do the job, but as many others have said, once your hearing is gone, it's gone.....