“This is the best of blogs; this is the worst of blogs…”, and so goes the beginning of Charles Dickens’ 19th century masterpiece a Tale of Two Cities… well, I changed it a bit but I am sure that he won’t mind. But that is exactly the schizophrenic nature of music and hearing aids. A hearing aid can be great for speech but absolutely useless for music. Conversely, the best hearing aid for music may not be near as optimal for speech. And having a glossy ad with a picture of a great looking musician playing does not mean that the hearing aids will be great for music (see picture at left for example).
What are some “tricks” that can be used to improve a hearing aid for music, if your client already has a pair and are happy with them for speech?
And what about hearing loss prevention from loud music? In some sense it would be great if when someone damaged their hearing from loud music, blood gushed from their ears, but alas, our subtle reality makes public education quite difficult.
This blog will touch on all of these points, and with your input, even more.
