Tonefiend Forum

Im just curious how many out there wear a Hearing Aid(s) and if any also suffers from Neuropathy,like Myself. Coupled also with these malady's. I ruptured the tendon and bicep in My left arm back in 04. Thankfully despite pain and numbness..I can still play. I've had to literally almost reinvent the way I play (mostly on the mental front). Im also replacing most of the single coil pickups in My strats with mini hum's or noisless pickups..If anyone wears a hearing aid like I do...you only know how 60 cycle hum is annoying even without a hearing aid..Now imagine wearing one and picking up every nuance of your amp and guitar pickups..My premise for this thread is to share any ideas,solutions and the thoughts of others who might also have these same or similar problems..I'm also interested in any therapies or remedy's anyone might be willing to share...Thoughts?

Quote from smgear on July 1, 2013, 12:58
Sorry to hear man, but it's good that you're still finding ways to make music. One thing comes to mind which 'may' help a bit. Back in my early soundguy days, I was working in some venues that had been designed for orchestra and choirs and therefore didn't react well to band stage volume. One of the workarounds that I came up with to move the bass amp offstage and pull the drummer in a bit was to mount rumble blocks/bass shakers to the underside of the drum throne and onto a thick sheet of plywood that the bass player stood on. Obviously this is skewed towards the low end frequencies and may not work quite as well depending on the severity of the neuropathy, but it might be worth experimenting with it. If you stand when you play, try the plywood option. If you sit on a stool, try mounting a shaker underneath it. If a chair, then you'll have to find the best location. Depending on your setup, you can feed it by chaining your amp output or just driving it separately from a small amp that you feed from an out or splitter somewhere in your chain.

Since it's primarily just reacting to the lower frequencies, it's not going to replace your other gear, but it should help you feel the music better and therefore you should be able to play the rest at a slightly lower volume. Supposedly, the Clark Tactile Tranducer system has an extended range up to around 15k. I haven't used it, but you might try something like that which will grab more of the range. See comparison here: https://www.baudline.com/erik/bass/tactile_report.html Disclaimer: I haven't used any of these in years so I can't verify anything. It could be worth trying though.

Without knowing the exact nature of the hearing problem, I'd also hazard a suggestion that you do some research on 'bone phones'. It's a fairly new technology and I've only seen a few on the market, but it's a 'shaker' type system that mounts above your ear and basically resonates the sound from the inside out. Again, I haven't tried them, but it seems like a cool tech.

yeah,I asked My audiologist about the "bone phone" years ago and she was totally ignorant of it...or she just wanted to promote the products shes familiar with. but Im still interested in the technology...theres just not much in the way of online resources..so to that end I feel kind of "trapped" I dont have any problems at all on stage as far as hearing people..I lock on to the drummer and "feel" the bass. Also...I sit when I play due to lower back issues. I ruptured My L4 about 12 years ago,survived a stroke 10 years ago...I'm well weathered and refuse to give up. And thank you for the info. 🙂

Quote from Digital Larry on July 2, 2013, 06:29
I worked on some voice-over-IP phones about ten years ago and IIRC some/all hearing aids have a special coil inside that is supposed to couple with the magnetic speaker in some (many) phone handsets. So that coil is there for a reason but has some unfortunate side effects.

I found an article: https://www.nchearingloss.org/telecoil.htm?fromncshhh

Maybe it's possible to turn yours off sometimes?

Yes, i can turn it off...but that would mean having to turn up My amp real loud, or literally sit very close to My amp...There has to be someone and/or company out there thats maverick enough to think about "Musicians" needs other than the general public, that needs to hear people speak...I could care less if I ever heard anyone speak again..I want to hear My music and hear it well...

Quote from Digital Larry on July 2, 2013, 08:07
Sorry, I meant to just turn the coil off if possible, not the hearing aid.

Ok now I understand what you meant...The T-coil's main function is for using the telephone..It's the middle position on the hearing aids channnel switch. on the current model Im wearing...Its disabled as, I can use the phone and talk without it and that saves Me time switching channels and answering calls expediently..the two channels I use..#1 is set very warm so if I need the extra bottom end I have it when Im listening to/playing music...#2 I have set with more low mids for general speech.

https://www.oticonusa.com/product-showcase/hearing-devices/performance/acto/overview.aspx

this is the model Im currently wearing. It is a (BTE)"Behind the ear" model from,Oticon.

Quote from Digital Larry on July 4, 2013, 09:14
I mistakenly thought that the coil might be part of the problem but clearly it isn't. Sorry I don't have a more helpful suggestion.

NP Larry...any insight is helpful...all correspondence leads to ideas and inspiration 😀