[Harp-L] New hearing Aids

[Steve]

> On 27 Nov 2017, at 20:33, Vern <jevern at xxxxx> wrote:
> 
> I am on my third set of hearing aids.
> 
> Some digital hearing aids have a low sampling rate and produce alias frequencies from the high overtones of the harmonica.  They sound terrible!  See Wikipedia on “aliasing” for a more complete explanation. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aliasing <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aliasing>  My current hearing aids aren’t too bad.
> 
> IF you are like most older men, you have lost a lot of your high-frequency hearing.  Your hearing aids may have a lot of HF boost to help you hear vocal sibilants.  Ask your audiologist to program that extra channel with somewhat less HF boost.  Ideally, take your harmonica to his office and try different frequency curves to find the optimums. 
> 
> If you are seeking an effect like an in-ear monitor, hearing aids may not be your best option.  I recommend the Studio 1 AM-300 Audio Monitor. It is a battery-powered unit that clips on your belt.  You use it with your harp mic.  You can plug in your headphones or ear-buds and set the volume level to suit yourself. It is an analog device so that aliasing isn’t an issue.
> http://www.dslrfilmnoob.com/2013/04/06/studio-1-am-300-boom-mic-headphone-amplifier/ <http://www.dslrfilmnoob.com/2013/04/06/studio-1-am-300-boom-mic-headphone-amplifier/>
> 
> Vern

I've had to stop playing in public because of my hearing loss. My hearing aids slightly distort the harmonica sound (making a blues harp sound like a tremolo). I still play at home quite enthusiastically and I can live with that. But the problem is that the hearing aids can't do for me what I used to do for myself, pick out and focus on another melody player in the band. Sound is just one big mush once you throw in the voluble pub chatter. It's a bit like taking a photo of a beautiful sunset. You saw the sunset and blanked everything else out. Your camera saw the telegraph pole, the power lines, the six other cars in the car park and the little brats with their dog just in front of you. Everything in the scene is equal as far as your camera is concerned. That's kind of what hearing aids do.