I think I need to give up Hi-Fi

[Paul-H]

Ok first of of I must be honest, I worked in heavy industry and have as a result damaged hearing, I also have Tinitus and do not as a result posses those elusive golden ears, they are more like wooden ears and doing a simple audio test I struggle to hear anything above 14khz, but I still enjoy a nice sounding system.

I then found this on YouTube

https://youtu.be/D3dszOSQcqA

I cannot hear any difference between them, should I just give up as my hearing is so bad ?

Be honest how different are they.

Thanks for any honest input on this

Paul

[struth]

If they are good equipment you may well not hear much if any difference. 14k is decent hearing for people over 50 mine isn't as good as that.
Enjoy your music if your enjoying it. Any tinkering can be cosmetic or moving into different things like streaming etc.

[walpurgis]

Good amplifiers should in theory all sound the same. The only reason amplifiers vary is due to the things they don't get right. None are perfect!

[hifi_dave]

You don't need to give up Hi-Fi, because, as you say, you still enjoy a nice sounding system. Job done.

[Opti-cal]

Hi Paul,

Hmmm, a few factors to address here.

Firstly all I can hear from that clip is some fairly terrible dubstep (there is actually some I don't mind but this is not it) in a very poor room (acoustically). Also any recording from any stereo can sound bad even if it's done with a fancy recorder especially if acoustics etc are not addressed.

Secondly the clips are not perfectly volume matched (they are close to be fair) but the only difference I can hear is in bass output but as mentioned before that is difficult to appreciate due to the boomyness of the room (recording).

Lastly 14khz is not actually too bad and you're certainly not going to be able to ascertain if you've lost anything with those kind of tracks.

If I were you I would get some material you know we'll and has notable high end extension and possibly someone whom you know has good hearing and just basically compare if you are hearing the same thing.

I wouldn't put much faith in YouTube recordings of the techniques used to tell you the facts.

If you're using headphones the only changes I could detect were slight volume variations and bass output. If I listened really critically there were some small differences like a bit of 'presence'with the tubes, some 'slam'from the newer ss amp and some 'warmth'from the old ss. But tiny and not really that obvious, Plus there is some expectation bias as it tells you which amp is playing and when, if I hadn't known I probably lwouldn't even have noticed.

So on that evidence I would say don't worry too much, especially if you still enjoy your system. Plenty going on at 14khz and lower!

Hope that might help a bit.

Cheers

Chris

[struth]

i might add there isnt all that much going on above 14k.. so your not missing a lot, but you may well sense it, like you can with a super tweeter. i cant hear a supertweeter but can sense its presence

[Opti-cal]

i cant hear a supertweeter but can sense its presence

Completely agree, same goes for subs at the other end. I find there is 'presence' to be found above and below the so called limits of human hearing. I can never agree that there is not point in recording and playing 'information'which we cannot technically hear. Okay over sampling at 196k is probably a bit much though.

Sorry for slight thread deviation but these are my thoughts....

[Pharos]

When I was about 24 I could hear to 18k, and after industrial abuse of my ears from a big telecoms company, and successful litigation for the resulting hearing loss, my right ear only goes up to 5k.

Ironically with the gains from litigation I have bought an expensive pair of speakers which go to 50k, and even with the bad ear can hear a difference compared with my older speakers which only went up to 23k. Most musical information is below 5k.

Listening to those samples on my £20 PC speakers makes no sense at all, and IMO amplifiers are mostly so good that they can be virtually ignored as a factor in the chain.

Several factors have resulted in my becoming stagnant in Hi-Fi terms, the above losses, the ridiculous expenditure for small improvements, and what I see as the relative paucity of profound new art.

So I will probably not change with the objective of improvement, but will acquire a streaming set up to facilitate.

[walpurgis]

I'm deaf in one ear and daft in the other! :)

[Pigmy Pony]

The upper limit of my hearing is less than 10k, but my speakers' ability to go way beyond that won't be lost on me, it will still have an effect on lower frequencies. My advice: forget the YouTube clip and carry on loving what you love.

[walpurgis]

The upper limit of my hearing is less than 10k, but my speakers' ability to go way beyond that won't be lost on me, it will still have an effect on lower frequencies. My advice: forget the YouTube clip and carry on loving what you love.

Exactly!

[Pigmy Pony]

I'm deaf in one ear and daft in the other! :)

Like Captain Kirk, I have three.

[Barry]

In line with others here, I would concur that despite some hearing loss there is no need for you to 'give up Hi-Fi'. Also, I wouldn't place too much credence in any on-line hearing tests.

Here's what I wrote about my own experiences: https://theartofsound.net/forum/showthread.php?11634-Can%92t-hear-those-high-frequencies-%96-Don%92t-Panic!

Happy listening!

[Ali Tait]

As other have said, 14k is plenty and there are many in their 50’s who can only hear to that.

I’ve always been very careful with my hearing, as a result according to various apps I’ve tried I can still hear to around 17.5k, pretty good for 51 (52 in a couple of months). I did have exceptional high frequency hearing when I was young.

I have recently developed Meniers in one ear though. Luckily it’s pretty minor at the moment and seems to come and go, but I do get some tinnitus in my right ear now and then. It’s at a low level though and doesn’t seem to detract at all from my enjoyment of my system, and I can still easily pick up subtle changes, so I’d say carry on!

[Firebottle]

Doing well there Ali :thumbsup:

I have a little tinnitus but it doesn't detract from the enjoyment of music at all.

[walpurgis]

I have a bit of tinnitus too, but keep forgetting I've got it. Some days I haven't. :)

[JohnJo]

Like Captain Kirk, I have three.

Liar, his was the final one.

[struth]

I've a lit of tinnitus. Had it when younger but it eased off. But now my neck it creasing the blood vessels and nerves that go up, some of them to the ears so tinnitus is back as is a tunnel hearing at times. Spondylosis is a bugger. Painful too.
So if you've just got 14k your doing well enough. [emoji3]

[walpurgis]

Spondylosis is a bugger. Painful too.

I was diagnosed with it a few years ago, but it went. I thought it was incurable. :scratch:

Tinnitus has reduced a lot since my neck surgery too.

[Wakefield Turntables]

I managed a little over 15K. Quite happy with that!

[walpurgis]

I managed a little over 15K. Quite happy with that!

I can't perceive notes over 10kHz, not that the Hi-Fi seems to sound any different.

[struth]

I was diagnosed with it a few years ago, but it went. I thought it was incurable. :scratch:

Tinnitus has reduced a lot since my neck surgery too.Reduced blood flow can give tinnitus so might have been connected with your blockage

[walpurgis]

Reduced blood flow can give tinnitus so might have been connected with your blockage

I think you may be right.

[Paul-H]

Thanks for all the replies, I was starting to think I must be all alone here not hearing what all the Audiophiles were going on about, but obviously nice to know I am not alone in not hearing the difference between two good quality Phono plugs on the same cable, like some claim.

Still the good news is that I don't need to upgrade my 35 year old Amp as to me it still dounds as awesom as the day I bought it brand new, although according to some it's relatively low-fi so my standards must be pretty low as my hearing was better 35 years ago, well I assume it was better, perhaps I have always had these wooden ears :)

Still nice to be able to save some money even if it's just to spend on more records, after all I much prefer to listen to the music not the gear producing it.

It must be terrible never being satisfied and always finding fault in what they just spent thousands on. Its nice being below average again, just like being back at school ;) .

Thanks again

Paul

[Pigmy Pony]

Is tinnitus similar for everyone? I get a whistling sound, which I would guess is about 5kHz, similar to what I could hear coming from television sets in the olden days, and to the noise I used to get after going to a loud concert or club. It also seems to get louder as I'm listening to music.

[walpurgis]

Is tinnitus similar for everyone? I get a whistling sound, which I would guess is about 5kHz, similar to what I could hear coming from television sets in the olden days, and to the noise I used to get after going to a loud concert or club. It also seems to get louder as I'm listening to music.

That's what I was getting. Largely down to a badly blocked carotid artery it seems, which had gone undiagnosed for some time. Could be worth getting checked, seeing as it gave me three successive strokes and nearly killed me in February. (only just before the hospital was swamped with Coronavirus victims as it happens)

[Barry]

The whistle from old TV sets was due to the line scan oscillator at 20kHz. Your hearing was very good if you could hear it.

The whistling you got after going to a loud concert was tinnitus, which would usually fade after a day or so, unless it was excessive. Usually it decreases down to a low level, which because it is a 'constant' stimulus is ignored by the brain and you don't notice it. But it can be easily triggered by listening to music.

[Light Dependant Resistor]

There is a common theme prevalent in a lot of forum threads, to try to impress that our actual hearing ability is confined to 20-20khz.

The truth is we perceive if there is absence of frequencies much higher. We therefore need equipment to contain the ability for higher frequencies
to properly assess the frequencies we hear directly. Whilst the subject material in this thread is a little different, it is reassuring to know our hearing
has some amazing ability. Some have suggested the frequencies we need in equipment specification extends to beyond 50 khz

Removing our perception frequencies, then changes the frequencies we directly hear
is argued here: https://www.earthworksaudio.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/07/The-world-beyond-20kHz.pdf

A counter argument then arises that there is no useful energy at these frequencies in musical instruments,
this graph and explanation differ http://www.cco.caltech.edu/~boyk/spectra/spectra.htm27717

[Ali Tait]

The whistle from old TV sets was due to the line scan oscillator at 20kHz. Your hearing was very good if you could hear it.

The whistling you got after going to a loud concert was tinnitus, which would usually fade after a day or so, unless it was excessive. Usually it decreases down to a low level, which because it is a 'constant' stimulus is ignored by the brain and you don't notice it. But it can be easily triggered by listening to music.

I thought that was about 14khz?

In any case I could always tell if anyone was in before I walked down their drive back in the day as I could hear if their telly was on or not as I'd hear the high pitched whistle of their telly.

Going back to the 90's, a neighbour had a vermin problem in his shed and bought an ultrasonic anti vermin thingie, it drove me mad as I could hear it, thankfully we were on good terms and he agreed to dispose of it when I threw myself upon his mercy. I was getting no sleep at all for that horrible thing..

[struth]

The vast majority of adults can only go up yo about 16k tbh. Younger you are the more you can hear. As a rule of thumb.
I used to work in TV industry and could easily hear the old line system. The new one was a stretch as I was older then but could sometimes pick it out.
I'd bet 75% of adults won't hear 17k.. Not that there is really much to hear anyway.

[struth]

I thought that was about 14khz?

In any case I could always tell if anyone was in before I walked down their drive back in the day as I could hear if their telly was on or not as I'd hear the high pitched whistle of their telly.

Going back to the 90's, a neighbour had a vermin problem in his shed and bought an ultrasonic anti vermin thingie, it drove me mad as I could hear it, thankfully we were on good terms and he agreed to dispose of it when I threw myself upon his mercy. I was getting no sleep at all for that horrible thing..For pal the freq is 15.6khz from the core of flyback tx.

[Light Dependant Resistor]

The vast majority of adults can only go up yo about 16k tbh. Younger you are the more you can hear. As a rule of thumb.
I used to work in TV industry and could easily hear the old line system. The new one was a stretch as I was older then but could sometimes pick it out.
I'd bet 75% of adults won't hear 17k.. Not that there is really much to hear anyway.

Hi Grant
Did you read the articles, I linked to a few posts ago ?

[struth]

Hi Grant
Did you read the articles, I linked to a few posts ago ?Sorry I've not got to those yet. Hope to tomorrow tho.

[Pigmy Pony]

That's what I was getting. Largely down to a badly blocked carotid artery it seems, which had gone undiagnosed for some time. Could be worth getting checked, seeing as it gave me three successive strokes and nearly killed me in February. (only just before the hospital was swamped with Coronavirus victims as it happens)

Thanks Geoff, for shining that little ray of sunshine onto my breakfast cornflakes :) My mum had a big stroke when she was 4 years younger than I am, messed her up badly for months. So yes, when I get my annual blood pressure check (due now) I'll ask the question.

[dave2010]

Re the Youtube Amp comparison - all I can write at this time is that the Beethoven recording is very clearly not good at all - either in terms of sound or performance. The distortion is very audible, so the amps are reproducing that pretty well!

[Chris]

I´ve just had confirmation of my permanent loss of hearing in one ear, virtually 100 dB across the board, caused by a Schwannoma (benign tumour/build up of Schwann cells) which is pressuring my audio nerve as it passes through a tunnel in my skull somewhere. Anyway an op doesn´t look to be a clever option so I´m wondering if anyone would recommend getting one of my inputs made mono and basically forgetting my right hand speaker or should I persevere with stereo and look right parallel to my speakers so my good left ear looks straight at the centre space between my speakers and try and assimilate any spatial info if poss. One thing is sure - I won´t be spending any more dough on my system, in fact I might well flog my A21SE and Wd25TEx and go back to my Sugden A48II and Heybrook HB2s of way back then. Quite a relief actually - my system is fine at long last.

[Ali Tait]

For pal the freq is 15.6khz from the core of flyback tx.

Cheers, thought it was around that.

[Firebottle]

It is actually 15.625kHz.
That comes from 625 lines (picture scan) x 25 frames per second = 15.625kHz.

To be even more pedantic a full frames is made up from two half frames of 312.5 lines scanned at 50Hz (mains frequency).
Alternate lines are scanned every half frame but the result is the same, 312.5 x 50 = 15.625kHz.

[Macca]

I´ve just had confirmation of my permanent loss of hearing in one ear, virtually 100 dB across the board, caused by a Schwannoma (benign tumour/build up of Schwann cells) which is pressuring my audio nerve as it passes through a tunnel in my skull somewhere. Anyway an op doesn´t look to be a clever option so I´m wondering if anyone would recommend getting one of my inputs made mono and basically forgetting my right hand speaker or should I persevere with stereo and look right parallel to my speakers so my good left ear looks straight at the centre space between my speakers and try and assimilate any spatial info if poss. One thing is sure - I won´t be spending any more dough on my system, in fact I might well flog my A21SE and Wd25TEx and go back to my Sugden A48II and Heybrook HB2s of way back then. Quite a relief actually - my system is fine at long last.

Going to mono will have other effects on the sound which your one good ear might notice. Also (although I don't know) the brain may compensate to some degree after time. I'd stay as you were and just listen siting side on. I do that sometimes anyway although both ears seem to be okay.

[struth]

It is actually 15.625kHz.
That comes from 625 lines (picture scan) x 25 frames per second = 15.625kHz.

To be even more pedantic a full frames is made up from two half frames of 312.5 lines scanned at 50Hz (mains frequency).
Alternate lines are scanned every half frame but the result is the same, 312.5 x 50 = 15.625kHz.

:lol: pedantic indeed alan :ner:

[walpurgis]

Hmm.

It was my compromised hearing that led me to my interest in Hi-Fi. Being about 50% deaf in my right ear along with no ability to hear higher frequencies, I thought high quality sound would be of benefit, rather than a waste of time.

I admit that having had impaired hearing nearly all my life, I'm used to it and don't consciously think of it generally. I also find that it has no effect on my enjoyment or my ability to appreciate the stereo effect from recordings.

I'd say keep what equipment you have or improve on it rather than downgrade. As for mono, it belongs where it is, in the past, apart from being a specialist interest for a very few (in my opinion :)).

[Chris]

Thanks, but maybe my case is a little different in so far I hear zero, zilch through my right ear. If I had 50 % I could use a balance control to get an impression of stereo. If I fix the balance 5% - 95% in favour of the right I will still only hear the 5 z of the left. I figure that listening in stereo I must be missing a lot of right hand info. Imagine listening through cans where the right hand driver is not connected.

[walpurgis]

Did you know that even with only one ear, there is directional information audible. If you have any recordings with pronounced left/right separation of the signal, try them, you my be surprised.

[HD Goofnut]

For those of you who have loss of hearing from 9k onwards and nothing past 10k how does it interfere when listening to music and vocals & is there anything that can be done to help get back what has been lost?

[walpurgis]

Well I can't detect sounds over 10kHz in my left ear due to age and have never been able to hear over about 1kHz in my right ear and that's at about 50% what it should be. To be honest, I'm seldom aware of it. The Hi-Fi still sounds as good to me as it ever did.

[struth]

could try headphones, especially adaptive ones... https://www.nuraphone.com/

[Pharos]

Most of the musical information is below about 4k - listen to telephone music - string quartet Bach for example, it can be surprisingly nuanced and informative.

telephone speech is based on commercial speech bandwidth of 300 to 3400 Hz, and was chosen a long time ago because it increases intelligibility, information retrieval.

Above about 5k mainly all that is there is 'bite', although I do miss the high belles on Enigma in the vocal refrain between 'verses'.

[HD Goofnut]

Obviously what is lost can’t be replaced but can decent hearing aids enhance the listening experience?

https://www.hearingreview.com/practice-building/practice-management/extended-bandwidths-in-hearing-aids

[AJSki2fly]

That's what I was getting. Largely down to a badly blocked carotid artery it seems, which had gone undiagnosed for some time. Could be worth getting checked, seeing as it gave me three successive strokes and nearly killed me in February. (only just before the hospital was swamped with Coronavirus victims as it happens)

That's interesting, I recently tested my hearing and my right ear drops at 12K by30dB and is pretty useless above, I have noticed sometimes at night if I lie on my right side with the pillow support my neck firmly that I get tints, a high pitched whistle as described by others. If I turnover then eventually the tints subsides.

I have been told that if you are a cardiac patient and on blood pressure lowering medication for a long term period then this can impact your ears, the is due was due to reduced blood supply to the ears which if I recall correctly the Cochlear hair cells in the ear need to remain healthy, once these hair cells are dead than that's it.

[hifi_dave]

For some time I was on Frusemide, a heavy duty Diuretic and this made me thirsty, I weed myself a couple of times on my way to work, it took the skin off the inside of my mouth and gave me Tinnitus. So yes, medication can give you Tinnitus. All the side effects ceased the day after I stopped the medication.

[archiesdad]

My tinnitus is a high pitched whistle or whine, but also due to 30 years down pit my ears are in poor working order, so I wear a pair of hearing aids, modern digital aids only help the frequencies required(if set correctly) and will mine even improve the tv sound, a friends husband has constant tinnitus and has hearing aids to help dull it, no idea how it does but he reckons it works and can help him sleep. New hearing aids improved my HiFi immensely and didn’t cost me a penny, I don’t a record of the test results but life is so much better for me and my wife is happier now volumes are lowered. Worth getting a test?

[Pharos]

Although I have loss, I also have hyperacusis which has increased my sensitivity to ordinary noise levels, and street sirens or the announcements in Morisons really are upsetting, especially the screechy voices.

My inarticulate friends call me deaf, but I can hear the HD spinning on my Humax PVR from 12 ft, and they cant, so hearing is very personal and trained.

I am on Furosamide, and it is a pain in the pisser, but I'm reducing the dose.

I cannot see how hearing aids cannot interfere with Hi-Fi, yet another interface.

[hifi_dave]

There are other Diuretics which haven't got the nasty side effects of the Frusemide. Can't remember what the Consultant put me on instead but it worked and I didn't notice anything untoward.

[Shovel_Knight]

I damaged my left ear in my previous job. I was required to write a certain application which was supposed to play some sounds and alter the channel balance depending on the input, but it didn't work initially. I thought the volume on my headset was turned down and turned it way up. Nothing changed. I started debugging the application and when I found and fixed the bug, it played full blast into my headset because I forgot to turn it down :doh:

I still hear up to 17 kHz with both ears (and can hear my wristwatch ticking from another room) but I now have constant ringing in my left ear and it's really annoying, in fact my wife tells me that I have become much more irritable since then :(

[walpurgis]

I dozed off after lunch earlier and woke up finding my tinnitus whistling away like mad. I expect it will fade and go overnight. It's the first time I've had it for weeks.

[Pigmy Pony]

I damaged my left ear in my previous job. I was required to write a certain application which was supposed to play some sounds and alter the channel balance depending on the input, but it didn't work initially. I thought the volume on my headset was turned down and turned it way up. Nothing changed. I started debugging the application and when I found and fixed the bug, it played full blast into my headset because I forgot to turn it down :doh:

I still hear up to 17 kHz with both ears (and can hear my wristwatch ticking from another room) but I now have constant ringing in my left ear and it's really annoying, in fact my wife tells me that I have become much more irritable since then :(

Mrs. P has found that I have become less irritable since going part-deaf in my left ear. But that's because I always sit to the right of her :)

[Pigmy Pony]

I dozed off after lunch earlier and woke up finding my tinnitus whistling away like mad. I expect it will fade and go overnight. It's the first time I've had it for weeks.

Geoff, this is probably not related to any of this tinnitus, but I seem to remember you once mentioning how you found Amlodipine to be horrible stuff, and I never got round to asking you what the problem was.

[walpurgis]

Geoff, this is probably not related to any of this tinnitus, but I seem to remember you once mentioning how you found Amlodipine to be horrible stuff, and I never got round to asking you what the problem was.

Where do I start? Freezing cold extremities, disturbed sleep, inability to focus or concentrate on anything, disorientation and general weirdness. I felt as though I was being poisoned!

[Pigmy Pony]

Where do I start? Freezing cold extremities, disturbed sleep, inability to focus or concentrate on anything, disorientation and general weirdness. I felt as though I was being poisoned!

Apart from the cold extremities, the rest of it sounds like the story of my life. Probably due to other "medications" in my younger years :) Otherwise maybe just a dry mouth, but that could just my body's way of saying more beer please. So what alternative did they give you?

[Pharos]

Where do I start? Freezing cold extremities, disturbed sleep, inability to focus or concentrate on anything, disorientation and general weirdness. I felt as though I was being poisoned!

I currently take 7 tabs a day, and as a sufferer of Raynaud's syndrome one pill sotalol really makes my hands cold, and I lose feeling in them. The dose was halved because of this factor. Concentration is hard, and I get burning sensations and stings randomly over my body which also affect it.

Also involved is an increased sensitivity to UV both in the eyes and on the skin.

It seems to me that many of us are at an age such that ailments are causing us to be on pills.

[struth]

I've a huge office filing cabinet fill of mess doh!

[Barry]

Although I have loss, I also have hyperacusis which has increased my sensitivity to ordinary noise levels, and street sirens or the announcements in Morisons really are upsetting, especially the screechy

I think I might have developed hyperacusis, as like you, I find the sirens of emergency vehicles, and road-working drills very loud and definitely uncomfortable, if not painful.

[Barry]

I still hear up to 17 kHz with both ears (and can hear my wristwatch ticking from another room) but I now have constant ringing in my left ear and it's really annoying, in fact my wife tells me that I have become much more irritable since then :(

Your wristwatch must have a very loud tick if you can hear it from another room. I can only just hear my wristwatch (a Rolex) when pressed up against my ear; so when you wear your watch on your wrist, the ticking must be very distracting.

[Shovel_Knight]

Your wristwatch must have a very loud tick if you can hear it from another room. I can only just hear my wristwatch (a Rolex) when pressed up against my ear; so when you wear your watch on your wrist, the ticking must be very distracting.

It's a bit on the loud side, yes. But I usually don't hear (or, more likely, don't notice) it among the daily hubbub. However, I can hear it very well when I'm in bed and that's why I leave it on my desk in the home office.

[Pigmy Pony]

but I now have constant ringing in my left ear[/B] and it's really annoying, in fact my wife tells me that I have become much more irritable since then :(

Probably your next door neighbour's phone ringing. Or the pub at the end of the road calling 'time'. Well maybe not now

[walpurgis]

So what alternative did they give you?

I ended up on Ramipril, which has been OK.

[Pharos]

I was on Amiodarone, but that was stopped because of long term serious side effects, and I am now on Ramipril.

[Barry]

Isn't Ramipril prescribed to lower blood pressure?

[Pigmy Pony]

Isn't Ramipril prescribed to lower blood pressure?

I'm assuming so, as it is a response to a question I had for Geoff, regarding his bad experience of Amlodipine, another hypertension-lowering medication, which is what I take.

[Pete The Cat]

Although I have loss, I also have hyperacusis which has increased my sensitivity to ordinary noise levels, and street sirens or the announcements in Morisons really are upsetting, especially the screechy voices.

My inarticulate friends call me deaf, but I can hear the HD spinning on my Humax PVR from 12 ft, and they cant, so hearing is very personal and trained.

I am on Furosamide, and it is a pain in the pisser, but I'm reducing the dose.

I cannot see how hearing aids cannot interfere with Hi-Fi, yet another interface.

I have H too as a result of concert 10 years ago. For the first year and a half it was life-changing, as in I couldn't even listen to the news on TV. Stirring a mug with a teaspoon, the click of a lightswitch, childrens' voices...all like a needle being dabbed onto my eardrum and everything so scratchy that it was like a permanent hangover. One of the banes of my life was people closing drawers or putting keys down on tables.

As you probably know, with H the pain threshold in your ears has been reset much lower in order to protect them. A bit like if you have sunburn luke warm water is painful until you recover. It is nothing like being deaf.

Mine was partially/largely cured by a combination of Serc, a drug that increases blood flow to your ear, wearing white noise generators to reacclimatise my ears to sound, and, time (the great healer). Nowadays I don't notice it if I stay away from obviously noisy environments. I can't bear to be in a room with lots of raised voices, won't go to a cinema again and avoid wedding discos altogether. Like you, supermarket announcements are literally a pain. But I can listen to music on a decent warm hi-fi at reasonably high domestic volume and will happily accept that compared to where I was after it happened. I live with tinnitus too, it's a small problem compared with H.

H is a nasty thing but exposure to reasonable levels of sound is part of the cure, as in getting your ears adjusted again. The worst thing some folks do is wear earplugs and shun all sound, you've got to grit your teeth and let it heal. When you're in the worst of it and it's messing with your head that's a hard approach to accept, but you need to have faith.

Pete

[mbic]

The chosen piece of music(sic) isn’t ideal. My choice would be a well recorded solo piano, such as the Koln Concert.