How Hearing Aids can Best Suit Musicians’ Needs

If you are a musician who experiences hearing loss, you may be wondering how wearing hearing aids would affect your perception of your music.

As hearing loss can result in the inability to detect sounds, which often progresses over time, this means that you may be in need of hearing devices without even realizing it.

By treating your hearing loss with hearing aids, you will have access to a greater range of frequencies. This may be essential to you as a musician and it may even improve your performance as well.

If you already know – or suspect! – that you suffer from hearing loss and you want to know how the use of hearing instruments may affect your performance, you’ve come to the right place.

New technology is making hearing aids more advanced and adaptable than ever, and that includes specific features that benefit musicians.

As music signals work differently to speech in their dynamics and characteristics, the main aim of hearing aids – to improve speech recognition and amplification – have not always coincided with an optimum spectral range for listening to and playing music.

This is no longer the case. Technology is now so sophisticated that your hearing devices can be programmed differently to harmonize with a bassist in a rock band or a violinist in the symphony.

Manufacturers of hearing instruments have long recognized the need for technology to meet musicians’ requirements. With the new technology available today, the challenges once posed by listening to and playing music with hearing devices are now problems of the past.

Starkey Hearing Technologies have long been recognized as leaders that adapt to suit musicians’ needs. By working closely with musicians and current hearing aid users, Starkey identified the features that are most desired by musicians specifically.

Starkey have introduced the Muse hearing device, which combines its Synergy platform with its new Acuity operating system. These two technologies work together to enhance speech and music enjoyment in one hearing instrument, diminishing distortion and clarifying soft sounds.

Starkey’s Muse also features a volume knob that can be used especially for music, as research found that users want to hear a natural sound when listening to their favorite songs or musical compositions. By adjusting the volume, users can avoid lots of frequency shaping or compression. (starkey.com)

Signia’s recent introduction of the Signia Primax hearing system allows hearing instrument users to adjust their preferences according to their needs.

Through the use of innovative 12kHz bandwidth technology, HDMusic allows Signia users to experience music at its highest quality. As the Signia primax offers three HDMusic programs – Recorded, Live and Musician – each program’s unique design can allow you to adjust your hearing aids for the type of music you are listening to at home or playing on the stage (pro.signiausa.com).

You can meet with one of our hearing instrument professionals at My Hearing Centers to find the perfect fit or adjust your current hearing aids. By working together, we can ensure that you can access the full tonal spectrum required for your musical performance.

We offer a range of technologies in addition to those featured above.

You may also be interested in:
• Resound uses wireless technologies to allow users to adjust the balance and tone of both music and conversations. Through the ReSound Smart App, it is easy to discreetly individualize how you hear, no matter what setting you’re in.

• The new Oticon Opn is based on the Velox platform, which provides 64 different channels of frequency resolution. This technology, combined with the YouMatic™ LX, allows users to personalize the listening experience to match specific preferences.

• Phonak hearing devices include a specific music function that enhances your listening experience. Phonak’s Venture platform also reduces battery consumption and offers faster processing speed than previous models.

• Siemens provides Bluetooth technology to sync your hearing instrument with your music at home as well as a special ‘music’ function, which is great for listening to music live.

• Widex has been applauded for its use of its TrueInput technology, which doubles input voltage. This is great for listening to loud music, so definitely one to research if you are in a rock band – or just love listening to them!

If you have not yet been tested for hearing loss, or you wish to discuss how hearing aids can better enhance your experience as a musician, contact one of our hearing professionals today. At My Hearing Centers, we can fit your hearing devices to suit both your day-to-day requirements and your needs as a musician.