Tweaking music program step by step

@e1405 Thank you for sharing your work on this. I’ll be following your steps when my new HAs arrive in a couple of weeks. Question:

Could you please elaborate on how you used Peace EQ (mentioned in Post #36) to fine-tune your music program? For example, did you use the hearing test to confirm adjustments made in step 6 (from Post #1)?

Hi, welcome to the forum!

You need to know the frequency response of your headphones to get the most out of Peace EQ’s hearing test tool. I used frequency response measurements I found online for both my Beyerdynamic DT 770 Pro and DT 900 Pro X. Configure the hearing test tool to compensate for your headphones’ frequency response so that you run a test as “flat” as possible (see here: Tweaking music program step by step - #37 by e1405 )).

Once that’s set up, reduce the level of the 1 kHz tone until you can just barely hear it. Then move up and down the frequency range. As you do, adjust the gain in your hearing aids at each frequency until the tones are perceived as equally loud. This allows you to identify frequencies where your hearing aids need more or less amplification.

Thank you! If I understand that correctly – you know the hearing aids are adjusted properly when your Peace EQ hearing test produces a curve that’s equivalent in slope to the phon curve (i.e. the orange line in the Peace EQ hearing test).

One other question. The Peace EQ hearing test is a relative test. Is there a baseline when “EQ-ing” hearing aids? Do you start with 1kHz and adjust relative to that?

I mentioned 1 kHz because it’s the reference frequency for a given phon level in the Fletcher–Munson equal-loudness contours (Equal-loudness contour - Wikipedia2). I mean, when we refer to the 60-phon contour, it means 60 dB SPL at 1 kHz. At every other frequency, the required sound pressure level is either higher or lower to be perceived as equally loud.

Over time, though, I’ve found myself using those pure-tone audio files more often than Peace EQ’s hearing test. To use those files correctly, you first need to calibrate the playback level. For example, if you’re using a 65-phon file, you should adjust the volume so that the 1 kHz tone plays at 65 dB SPL.

Thanks, I’m still wrapping my head around all of the technical details, but I think I know what to do now. I’ll report back in several weeks.

Having giving up in the past, (among other things, playing in a jazz band with hearing aids was such a mess), I’m optimistic about trying hearing aids again and learning the DIY route after reading posts from you and others.

I think for a start you should research here, useful links to get a better understanding on how to go about your music requirements.

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@tenkan said:

I think for a start you should research here, useful links to get a better understanding on how to go about your music requirements.

Since this isn’t the first, second, or third time you’ve posted this whenever I share details of my “music experiments”, let me suggest you another way to phrase this ;):

What you just read in this thread was developed by a user who spent a great deal of time experimenting and came up with this rather unconventional approach. While it appears to have worked very well for him (it did!), he seems to be the only person reporting success with either the pure-tone files or the Peace EQ hearing test (what can I say… my music program is great!). Therefore, I think you’re better off starting with the references below, which provide a broader overview of the more conventional approaches people have used to improve their music experience with hearing aids.