Hi all
Since my teenage years I have always had problems hearing high pitched sounds, particularly noticeable with Wrens, Finches , Thornbills etc .
It first came to light when I would be walking with my wife or others that could hear, and I would say it is very quiet today and they would say no there is heaps of birds around !
I have a very good eye for a bird so probably compensating for my lack of hearing. I will often see birds that others have missed because they are not calling.
I had a hearing test done 6 years ago which confirmed what I already knew, but as the hearing aids that may correct this were $6000 a pair, I decided I didn’t need to hear extra birds that much.
Recently Hunter Hearing in conjunction with WIDEX Hearing Aids had a 30 day free trial offer for their latest technology hearing aids, so I decided to try them out.
My hearing had deteriorated even further since my last test so definitely worth a try.
Frequencies over about 1.5 khz become harder for me to hear. My lower frequency hearing is just under normal now also.
The hearing aids have a program to increase the clarity and decrease background noise. I have been testing them out for the last week or so just with normal situations of television , music etc and whilst I can now have the volume lower, I am still no better off than before.
However, today , Lynn and I went for an early morning bird walk to see what we could hear and I was absolutely blown away by the difference between them in and out. Not only were all the birds louder , I could hear Wrens , Finches etc from a further distance than I could before. Some birds had a level to their call that I didn’t even know existed ! It was almost deafening J. Sacred Kingfishers, Pheasant Coucals, Superb Fairy-wren, Red-browed Finches , Silvereyes, Rufous and Golden Whistlers, Black-faced Monarchs, Fan-tailed and Brush Cuckoo, Grey Fantail, Brown Quail, Lewins , Scarlet and Yellow-faced Honeyeaters , plus Rosellas , Galahs , Magpies , Crows etc
>From our front veranda I could hear Grey Shrike-thrush, Brush Cuckoo , Scarlet Honeyeater and Golden Whistler calling along the river which is at least 300 metres away, that I couldn’t hear without the aids.
The model is WIDEX Passion Clear 440 and they are now $10,000 a pair !!! Are they worth it ….. I still have one week to decide.
I would be interested to hear of anyone else’s experiences with hearing aids.
Cheers
Dick Jenkin DUNGOG NSW
Aft
Lynn and Dick Jenkin
Tashkent Friesians
PO Box 92 Dungog NSW 2420
02 49921158
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Django-of-Cacharel/147336717447?ref=ts Djangos Facebook Page
http://tashkentfriesians.com/ Tashkent Friesians
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Getting a little away from the main topic, but have you ever paused to realise that unless science should come up with a method of connecting directly to a human brain you can never know whether what you are hearing is exactly the same as what I am hearing, when we are both listening to a bird right in front of us?
Syd
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It would be interesting to know how many “gun” birders (I’ve always thought that was an odd term to use) have better than average hearing and eyesight, or did when they started. I’m sure there’s much more to it than that, (e.g. dedication and lots of practice), but it must surely help.
Peter Shute
Hi Lloyd, Yes my directional hearing is much improved! I couldn’t even hear most of the birds before, let alone discern the direction!
I was always amazed when birding with people like Keith Brandwood who would have picked up and identified 10+ species by call alone before i had even seen or heard anything! Now i have to learn all the calls from scratch pretty much though so I’m still pretty hopeless at birding by ear…..but slowly getting better. I know you won’t have that same problem though! Cheers Dave
Dick, Bob and Dave
I am in the same boat! One ear is worse than the other and consequently I have lost directional hearing – rather embarrassing when you have to ask people with you where the call is coming from! Do these aids help that problem at all? Would appreciate your opinions.
There is an American device built for people with high end hearing loss – some details below – does anybody know anything about it or had any experience with it?
Lloyd Nielsen Mt Molloy, Nth Qld
http://www.naturesound.com/songfinder/songfinder The SongFinder is an advanced digital device aimed at bird enthusiasts who suffer from high frequency hearing loss and who are unable to hear high-pitched bird songs in their natural surroundings. Unlike conventional amplifying-type hearing aids, the Songfinder works by lowering the frequency of high-pitched songs into a range where the user has normal or near-normal hearing. This method avoids the many pitfalls of extreme amplification. Furthermore, the SongFinder is a two-channel “binaural” device that allows the user to determine the directions and distances of singing birds. The SongFinder offers an elegant and tasteful solution for aging birders and other nature lovers who can no longer hear high singing birds.
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I too have recently invested in some hearing aids, a mid priced set of Oticon at $4890, less $550 from my Health Insurance. Couldn’t get any free ones as I’m not eligible for the OAP. The improvement in top end hearing, ie , of wrens etc is phenomenal. Well worth the money.
Tony
Hi Dick, All i can say is DO IT! I’m still in my 30’s (for a few more weeks anyway!) and have now had Oticon hearing aids for a year and a half. It took me a while to get the courage up to do it and get over the stigma etc but it was the best $10K i have spent. Like you have said, i can now hear birds that i never had a chance of hearing before. They have made life so much more enjoyable for me in so many ways. One of the reasons i went with the top model Oticons was that they had a frequency range up to 10kHz as opposed to 8kHz as the “cheaper” ones did. The audiologists at Macquarie Uni were very helpful and I made it very clear about the birding etc from the start. As Arwen has mentioned birds are often at higher frequencies.
Cheers Dave
Hi there Dick,
I’m not overly aware of the process involved in programming hearing aids and you have probably done this already, but I imagine it is worth making your interest in birds known to the programmer (and the fact that bird calls encompass a wider frequency range than human speech). The frequencies in human speech go up to about 5kHz (some consonants like ‘s’ and ‘sh’ and the harmonics in some vowels), and hearing aids might be programmed primarily around human speech , I’m not sure. I do know that cochlear implants are designed specifically for human speech, so music and I imagine bird song can sound distorted. I think. Anyway, just a suggestion to check this out – especially if it is so costly.
How fantastic this little device has enhanced your birding experience in such a fundamental way! I say go for hearing aids (I wish my dad would… :). Good luck.
Cheers,
Arwen
………………………………….. Arwen Blackwood Ximenes Lawson, Blue Mountains, NSW arwenbx@hotmail.com
href=”mailto:richardnjenkin@bigpond.com”>richardnjenkin@bigpond.com href=”mailto:birding-aus@vicnet.net.au”>birding-aus@vicnet.net.au
Hi all
Since my teenage years I have always had problems hearing high pitched sounds, particularly noticeable with Wrens, Finches , Thornbills etc .
It first came to light when I would be walking with my wife or others that could hear, and I would say it is very quiet today and they would say no there is heaps of birds around !
I have a very good eye for a bird so probably compensating for my lack of hearing. I will often see birds that others have missed because they are not calling.
I had a hearing test done 6 years ago which confirmed what I already knew, but as the hearing aids that may correct this were $6000 a pair, I decided I didn’t need to hear extra birds that much.
Recently Hunter Hearing in conjunction with WIDEX Hearing Aids had a 30 day free trial offer for their latest technology hearing aids, so I decided to try them out.
My hearing had deteriorated even further since my last test so definitely worth a try.
Frequencies over about 1.5 khz become harder for me to hear. My lower frequency hearing is just under normal now also.
The hearing aids have a program to increase the clarity and decrease background noise. I have been testing them out for the last week or so just with normal situations of television , music etc and whilst I can now have the volume lower, I am still no better off than before.
However, today , Lynn and I went for an early morning bird walk to see what we could hear and I was absolutely blown away by the difference between them in and out. Not only were all the birds louder , I could hear Wrens , Finches etc from a further distance than I could before. Some birds had a level to their call that I didn’t even know existed ! It was almost deafening J. Sacred Kingfishers, Pheasant Coucals, Superb Fairy-wren, Red-browed Finches , Silvereyes, Rufous and Golden Whistlers, Black-faced Monarchs, Fan-tailed and Brush Cuckoo, Grey Fantail, Brown Quail, Lewins , Scarlet and Yellow-faced Honeyeaters , plus Rosellas , Galahs , Magpies , Crows etc
Scarlet Honeyeater and Golden Whistler calling along the river which is at least 300 metres away, that I couldn’t hear without the aids.
The model is WIDEX Passion Clear 440 and they are now $10,000 a pair !!! Are they worth it ….. I still have one week to decide.
I would be interested to hear of anyone else’s experiences with hearing aids.
Cheers
Dick Jenkin DUNGOG NSW
Aft
Lynn and Dick Jenkin
Tashkent Friesians
PO Box 92 Dungog NSW 2420
02 49921158
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Django-of-Cacharel/147336717447?ref=ts Djangos Facebook Page
http://tashkentfriesians.com/ Tashkent Friesians
logosmall
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Hi there Dick,
I’m not overly aware of the process involved in programming hearing aids and you have probably done this already, but I imagine it is worth making your interest in birds known to the programmer (and the fact that bird calls encompass a wider frequency range than human speech). The frequencies in human speech go up to about 5kHz (some consonants like ‘s’ and ‘sh’ and the harmonics in some vowels), and hearing aids might be programmed primarily around human speech , I’m not sure. I do know that cochlear implants are designed specifically for human speech, so music and I imagine bird song can sound distorted. I think. Anyway, just a suggestion to check this out – especially if it is so costly.
How fantastic this little device has enhanced your birding experience in such a fundamental way! I say go for hearing aids (I wish my dad would… :). Good luck.
Cheers,
Arwen
………………………………….. Arwen Blackwood Ximenes Lawson, Blue Mountains, NSW arwenbx@hotmail.com
href=”mailto:richardnjenkin@bigpond.com”>richardnjenkin@bigpond.com href=”mailto:birding-aus@vicnet.net.au”>birding-aus@vicnet.net.au
Hi all
Since my teenage years I have always had problems hearing high pitched sounds, particularly noticeable with Wrens, Finches , Thornbills etc .
It first came to light when I would be walking with my wife or others that could hear, and I would say it is very quiet today and they would say no there is heaps of birds around !
I have a very good eye for a bird so probably compensating for my lack of hearing. I will often see birds that others have missed because they are not calling.
I had a hearing test done 6 years ago which confirmed what I already knew, but as the hearing aids that may correct this were $6000 a pair, I decided I didn’t need to hear extra birds that much.
Recently Hunter Hearing in conjunction with WIDEX Hearing Aids had a 30 day free trial offer for their latest technology hearing aids, so I decided to try them out.
My hearing had deteriorated even further since my last test so definitely worth a try.
Frequencies over about 1.5 khz become harder for me to hear. My lower frequency hearing is just under normal now also.
The hearing aids have a program to increase the clarity and decrease background noise. I have been testing them out for the last week or so just with normal situations of television , music etc and whilst I can now have the volume lower, I am still no better off than before.
However, today , Lynn and I went for an early morning bird walk to see what we could hear and I was absolutely blown away by the difference between them in and out. Not only were all the birds louder , I could hear Wrens , Finches etc from a further distance than I could before. Some birds had a level to their call that I didn’t even know existed ! It was almost deafening J. Sacred Kingfishers, Pheasant Coucals, Superb Fairy-wren, Red-browed Finches , Silvereyes, Rufous and Golden Whistlers, Black-faced Monarchs, Fan-tailed and Brush Cuckoo, Grey Fantail, Brown Quail, Lewins , Scarlet and Yellow-faced Honeyeaters , plus Rosellas , Galahs , Magpies , Crows etc
Scarlet Honeyeater and Golden Whistler calling along the river which is at least 300 metres away, that I couldn’t hear without the aids.
The model is WIDEX Passion Clear 440 and they are now $10,000 a pair !!! Are they worth it ….. I still have one week to decide.
I would be interested to hear of anyone else’s experiences with hearing aids.
Cheers
Dick Jenkin DUNGOG NSW
Aft
Lynn and Dick Jenkin
Tashkent Friesians
PO Box 92 Dungog NSW 2420
02 49921158
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Django-of-Cacharel/147336717447?ref=ts Djangos Facebook Page
http://tashkentfriesians.com/ Tashkent Friesians
logosmall
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Hi Dick
I am sure there are a few of us “more mature” birders out there with similar experiences to yours. I have exactly the same hearing deficiency at high frequencies – I think it is the most common area of hearing loss as we get older. My wife has a different area of loss, mid-high.
We each have had two models of hearing aids over the past 8 years, both by Resound. Both have had a great effect, exactly as you describe. Superb Fairy-wrens inhabit our rear garden area and without the hearing aids I can only hear them when they are virtually screaming at me from less than a couple of metres away. With the hearing aids I hear them clearly all over the place, including the higher end of their call that I had never heard before. Another interesting experience I have had with the aids is that the extreme high frequencies partly come through as just a high pitched crackling sound. This was my experience of hearing Rufous-crowned Emu-wren earlier this year. While it was not their true call, obviously, it clearly alerted me to their presence.
A suggestion is to go hunting on the internet for a cheaper source. We bought our Resound Azure aids from a UK based audiologist who was selling them for about 25% of full retail, i.e. around $1200 a pair rather than around $5,000 a pair – about 2 years ago. Having had hearing tests done here we were able to send our audiograms to her and she programmed the aids before shipping them. You can try Precise Hearing, based in the U.S., as the supplier we found is no longer around. I don’t know what prices you can get from them, but I am sure you can do a lot better than $10k a pair. We have used them to get spare tips and tubes.
Also, use the internet to find cheaper batteries, we buy from the U.S. at about 1/4 of what you pay at the local pharmacy or hearing centre.
I very highly recommend that you get the aids as it does transform your birding experience! I also recommend that you get the “better” quality ones – probably like the Widex ones you have trialled or the Resound Azure. I, like you, am pretty good at spotting the birds, but you don’t see the ones that are yelling their heads off just behind you!! One lack I personally have found is determining the direction of calls with the aids. Not hopeless, but not as good as I can know the direction of lower frequency calls without the aids.
Regards & good luck
PS: It’s amazing how my wife’s mumbling speech has improved since I started wearing hearing aids!!
Bob Cook