Can anyone heer suggest good brands of hearing aids that perform well when learning or playing guitar?
I’m particularly interested in hearing from those in the US, where “over the counter” aids have been recently approved.
Here in Canada, hearing aids are still classified as medical devices, and hence insanely expensive - like - $2000 per ear! As a former engineer, I know there are at most a few hundred dollars of parts involved…so surely there is a better way!
Tom
You may find this of interest Maggie aka @batwoman raised a similar enquiry a few months back, so your answer may be here 
Do you mean hearing aids (to help improve your hearing) or ear plugs as noted by Toby?
I think he’s asking about Hearing aids. They are grossly expensive in Canada.
Good call Stuart miss read the OP.
Here in the UK I got mine (free) on the NHS. If I want to I can also connect them to my phone, TV and a microphone for meetings. I don’t!! Mainly because the sound is really tinny & off putting. I just turn them up a bit if needed 
Sadly, not covered by the Canadian single payer plans.
What brand do you have? Do you like them?
I have Hearing Aids and Solutions | Phonak which work fine. They are computer adjusted to suit my hearing loss. In my case one ear is better than the other but both suffer from not hearing high frequencies.
High frequency loss is my biggest problem as well. I mainly notice it when playing over a drum track. Without my aids, I can barely hear the hi-hats
I inherited a pair of Phonaks from my mother, and they really help with conversations and watching TV. But one of them has already died, and the other one’s on it’s way out. Six or seven years old, I think. Out of warranty now, and I’ve been very unhappy with the dealer (Connect Hearing, here in Canada).
My aids have one quirk that affects guitar playing. Frequencies above a certain threshold are shifted down to lower frequencies. This helps with speech, but when playing notes on the e and B strings, I get a weird distortion that sounds a lot like string buzz.
Do the ones you have allow you to control features like this from your phone?
I have found that certain notes just sound odd, which I have put down to my ears, as I know that the guitar is in tune.
I’ve not tried that to be honest. have just downloaded the app to my phone to see if it works.
@Tbushell Morning Tom, I know this thread is over a year old, but I have just done a search on HA’s and found it.
Before I type too much, I wonder if you have now found a solution or any help in your situation.
I am in the UK btw, beginner bordering low intermediate player, HA wearer for over 10 years, 65 years old
Cheers
Ian
Hi Ian,
Please share, there are probably those who will come across this thread now or later and your solution might be here for them (me) ,
Greetings,Rogier
@roger_holland
Morning Rogier
Good point, I need to go out now, but a bit later will add my experiences, unfortunately no solutions, when your hearing is gone you can only adapt to the situation with or without the aid of whatever technology you can afford.
Here are a few things I have observed being a HA wearer guitarist here in the UK, so this is purely from a UK perspective.
Firstly, just from a loss of hearing point of view, it’s gone, you’re not getting it back, that is the harsh reality.
HA’s will obviously help with that loss, but to what degree?
If I purchase the best I can afford, that must be better than cheaper ones surely???
In the UK, all available HA’s come in different feature levels, with vastly different prices.
After my initial NHS aids, I went private.
I have bought 3 pairs now, over 10 years, top of the range, because at the time I could afford it, (Phonak ÂŁ2.7k, Signia ÂŁ2.5k, Widex ÂŁ3.7k).
I have now got an updated NHS pair for free, and guess what? They are actually better than the Widex ones.
Conclusion:-
1 - Don’t expect fully corrected hearing.
2 - Higher the cost does not necessarily mean better.
3 - The HA’s are only as good as your audiologist.
4 - Fully explain your requirements including your guitar playing and singing expectations.
5 - Make full use of the companies that give full 60 day or more, money back if not satisfied guarantee.
6 - Ask for genuine and honest feedback from family and friends.
7 - Expect and use multiple follow up appointments for tweaks to your HA’s.
8 - Keep a diary of every hearing challenge you encounter.
9 - If you go down the high street store route, ask why a certain aid is being recommended above others, Boots for example will recommend Phonak, (part of the same company), this isn’t to say that Phonak would not be right for you, they are very good HA’s, but there may be better ones for your personal requirements.
10 - One final thing, sometimes normal hearing people struggle in this modern world of ours, it is always helpful if the people you are hanging out with let you know they can’t hear whatever you may be struggling with.
11 - And a final, final thing, especially as it’s number 11, EVERYONE, look after your hearing, once its gone its gone.
Going Forward
It would be really good if anyone within this community, is, or knows of hard of hearing musicians, HA wearers, could join this debate with suggestions and experiences that may help others.
For example, I recently attempted my first open mic night, I just wasn’t prepared for using a PA system plus monitor speakers, totally threw me.
Kindest regards
Ian
I am not yet in the hearing aid crowd (just the tinnitus crowd, which is annoying enough).
I spend time on two large guitar forums outside of this one, the “Acoustic Guitar Forum” and the “DelCamp” forum (classical). Both have been around for ages with large forum numbers and many high level or even professional level players who are aging as well.
I know this topic has been discussed on both forums, so it may be worth exploring over there where there may be more experience with hearing aids and playing music. There are probably other forums as well, perhaps one more geard to electric players.
I doubt the answers will be much different than Ian’s wise advice, but maybe some have more specifics or non-UK based info.
Funny you should ask…
Coincidentally to your question - about a month ago I finally pulled the trigger, and purchased a pair of Rexton hearing aids from Costco (the North American warehouse / big box chain). I’ve been meaning to do a write up…so here it is.
My main reason for going with Costco was price. Here in Canada, their prices are literally half of what private hearing aid clinics charge. I paid $2000 CDN for a pair - still a hell of a lot - but the best deal available around here…by a wide margin.
This price also includes follow up visits, 3 year warranty, 1 time replacement of lost or damaged units, and 180 day trial period.
I had to wait several weeks for an appointment with the Costco audiologist, and another couple of weeks for the units to be delivered to the store, but the hearing test and fittings were very comprehensive.
I went with the Rextons at the audiologist’s recommendation, because she said their smart phone app gives the best control compared to the other brands they sell (Sony and Phillips, IIRC). Costco sells all three brands at the same price point, which makes it easier to compare based on features.
The audiologist set me up with some custom programs based on my requirements - one of which is “playing music”…for guitar playing and singing.
So far, I am quite happy with them. In fact, everything sounds incredibly muffled now when I take them out. My girlfriend tells me she has to repeat things far less often now. Though I still find it easier to leave the closed captioning on when I watch TV.
This is something I probably should have done a long time ago…only now do I realize what a handicap I was suffering under.
But what about the most important bit…guitar playing?
I’m still adapting to that, but I think it’s going to lead to some big changes in how I play. So far…
Apparently, the thin strings on my guitar have been buzzing horribly, and I’ve been completely unable to hear it. I loosened the truss rod, and it’s better. But I don’t totally trust my now-augmented hearing, and will probably take the guitar into the shop for a second opinion.
The guitar sounds much brighter…which is what you’d expect now that I can hear those higher frequencies. But I’m still getting used to that…sometimes it sounds unpleasantly harsh. I’m probably due for a new set of strings as well.
I’ve always had a heavy strumming arm…probably compensating for my hearing loss. Now I’m realizing I can play with a much lighter touch - though it’s an ongoing exploration.
So overall, a very positive experience so far! If anyone has questions, feel free to ask.
Apparently the newer devices can also help with tinnitus…at least, that was a big section in the questionnaire I filled out.
Fortunately for me, it’s not an issue…but maybe worth looking into for you.
You can get a not too expensive aid type thing that just generates an adjustable white noise; it’s sort of training you to ignore it, I have aids that have that option and it does work but not permanently, you need to use white noise as often as you can put up with it to make a real improvement.
@Tbushell , Tom that is really good news that you took the plunge, I bet your girlfriend and others too are pleased.
In case you didn’t realise, you may well fell quite tired as well now as your brain will be working overtime to deal with all this, now new to you information.
Let me know how you progress
Cheers
Ian
great discussion, I really appreciate, I wear bi-aural Moxi-VR by Sonova/Unitron, both ears are affected. To my ears, the guitar playing is getting better (my teacher mentioned I had ringing high strings I didn’t hear before) and the sound is fuller, no distortion so far (except when I leave the hearing aids on automatic adjustment, the volume changes drastically, surprising me).
It is an expensive experience, however one has to understand that hearing loss is far more than just an impediment. It leads on one hand to isolation, as one does no longer follow and participate with others and on the other hand, the brain decays much faster (it is clinically demonstrated that uncompensated hearing loss may accelerate dementia).
Moreover hearing aids stimulate again the region of the brain responsible for hearing and I personally hear again the birds chirping in the morning, my brain capture again these signals, long forgotten. I can only encourage to make the step (I waited two years, and went into isolation, this is what motivated me to start wearing hearing aids, just another quality of life). One thing will remain, tinnitus, this damned tinnitus, that’s life !
And consult an audiologist, she/he is key to have the hearing aids tuned to your ears and needs. Your ENT may also help you in the process.