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Looking for audiologist who is an audiophile and lover of music

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I’ve got mild to moderate hearing loss and love to listen to music. I’m also an audiophile/serious music listener. I decided to try because music through my home audio system didn’t sound good any more. So I searched for an audiophile audiologist in my area but there seems to be no such thing! Apparently audiologists in my area don’t listen to music critically at all.

I finally found an audiologist who had been to what’s called CAN JAM, a kind of audiophile event for headphone users. I assumed that this meant they were just what I was looking for. I went to see the audiologist and they did a hearing test and they fitted me with HAs.

Now, two years later, I have realized that I made a lot of assumptions and mistakes.

I’m not very confidant in my audiologist now. First, they are not audiophiles/music lovers. They are not audiophiles or serious music listeners. The CAN JAM thing was just a sales/marketing thing for my audiologist. I’m having a hard time relating to them because they don’t seem to understand people like me or what I want from HAs. Finding HAs that make music sound good is critical for me.

They don’t even have any rudimentary stereo system- nothing at all, not even the cheapest besr best buy stereo. How can they help me if they can’t even play music in their office? I have no idea how to explain what sounds wrong with my HAs. they keep saying "come in and we’ll adjust your HAs but I don’t see the point. We have no common reference point and we can’t listen to music in their office.

When I first went in for a fitting they didn’t discuss different brands and models with me; they were happy to fit me with the top of the line models I requested. I had assumed, wrongly, that top of the line meant best music reproduction too. My audiologist didn’t tell me that.

Is my experience with audiologists typical?

I’m planning on trying some other audiologists but don’t know how to find ones that meet my needs. Any suggestions?

9 people in this conversation5 min readJump to latest

Perhaps find someone that fits Widex instruments? I don’t have personal experience with them, but the consensus among musicians and audiophiles seems to be that brand of aid is probably the best for serious listeners.

Well, I’d very happy to find an audiologist that is a hearing aid user. But I guess they are like unicorns…

Not sure what your hearing profile is however I have just upgraded from Bernafons at about six years to Kirkland KS10 which is a Phonak P90. I’m a guitarist, both acoustic and classical. The Bernafons provided me with great service but I immediately noticed a vast improvement in understanding song vocals with the KS10s. Also noticed the ability to understand others whispers which I haven’t heard through a hearing aid in 25 years. Music also sounds great through my phone, watch, both in stereo, and my audio system The other good news was at $1399 they were less than half of the Bernafons.

Make sure they fit them during a trial with real ear measurements. My first Costco Audi had me bring in my guitar for my fitting. Guess you could bring in a Pod or Phone for music but there is a noticeable improvement for me on my audio system. I believe it’s because of spatial separation and room acoustics. Hard to describe but definitely better. Good luck!

I’m also an audiophile and an amateur musician. And I’m mainly interested in classical music. I am using Bernafon Viron 9 and find them excellent for listening to music. However my loss is a typical ski slope loss where it’s mainly the higher frequencies that are affected. Also I have learnt to programme my aids myself as I couldn’t find an audiologist that I had faith in. Being able to make changes yourself and then hear the results straight away and to be able to do this as often as you wish is ideal though remember that the brain takes time to get used to a change. Widex have a system where the aids present you with setting changes from which you choose the one that you prefer. I believe they do this regularly until it becomes clear that you have arrived at the best settings for you. This might be worth investigating. Good luck

Unfortunately hearing aids are not there yet. If you are serious about critical listening you will need a good set of headphones an equalizer and perhaps a headphone amplifier.

Regardless of the brand of aids you use you should learn to self program your aids.

Edited
@Psych1 said:

Unfortunately hearing aids are not there yet. If you are serious about critical listening you will need a good set of headphones an equalizer and perhaps a headphone amplifier.

FWIW, I have been a professional solo guitarist (both stage and studio work) for 50 years, and - IMO - @Psych1’s statement is correct.

YMMV

The OP has 2 threads going on this subject, so???
Anyway @Psych1 and @SpudGunner, I agree with both of you, BUT, I find using the built-in Music program on my ha’s with a good pair of over ear headphones, negate the need for external EQ for listening.
Unless you go parametric, a graphic EQ is way too broad to be of a lot of help.

On the other hand, the OP states a mild hearing loss, so he may be ok with that.

In reply to @devicktimothy01

@devicktimothy01 said:

what could a parametric EQ do for me that a 1/2 or 1/3 octave EQ could? I might be a little too OCD to deal with the audible “width” and ramp up and down on both sides of frequencies I want to adjust. I could probably tweak it forever and never be quite satisfied!

You make a valid point, I tried both parametric & graphic, and as I said b4, Leave ha’s on, enable music program,wear good over ear cans, and enjoy your music.
Your ha’s have the eq tuned to your loss, so why bother w/ outboard eq?
Today’s ha’s are usually rated at ±100hz to ±10khz… That should be enough for a pleasant listening experience.
Cranking up the gain on your amp & adding eq will probably cause more harm than good.

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