Hearing tested - what to check for ?

Ok, I'm sick and tired of my off left of centre, lead singers etc. and after blaming it, over the years, on everything, from anti-skating to cartridge channel imbalance to i/cs to amp to furniture and room unsuitablity,- bar my mains voltage, you name it - all to no avail I might add, I have decided to get my hearing tested before I give up and take up knitting.

Is there anything I should ask the hearing "specialist" to look out for ? or is it just a general scan sort of thing he should do ?

 

They are unlikely to fin anything to show the problem you describe. Standard hearing tests are completely insufficient AFAIK for testing much more than whether you can hear someone talking clearly. I understand they will only test up to 8KHz for example.

You could do your own tests using a computer and a pair of good headphones.

 

There's a test your GP can do that involve a tuning fork placed just above you middle of forehead-he then asks you where the sound is coming from. Apparently there's a benign growth that can put pressure on the main auditory nerve.
Do you suffer bunged up nose ,sinuses, ears? I get something similar but it clears after manipulation of the main jaw hinge(?) joint one eustacian tube doesn't drain as well as it should in my case..
Try this; pinch nose tight, close mouth and swallow, keep nose pinched and mouth firmly closed, now jiggle your jaw, thrusting it forward as you do so, don't try to blow against your eardrums to clear this is a bad idea.Hows that?

 

Chris,

How did you rule out the room? My room does that to a small extent. But hey, we all have to live in them and I can't be fagged to make it all look like a studio.

Btw, I've often heard a slight left emphasis with some recordings wherever I hear them - maybe I'll get my earholes checked.

Steve

 

Hearing test won't do it - as said, they only really check for 'conversational' hearing.

Have you tried pulling your right hand speaker 'slightly' forward? Play something you know will be dead centre and move one or other of the speakers forward and/or backward, an inch at a time, until you're happy. Nothing much you can do about your ears, everything else can be moved around!

 

Count yourself lucky your ears don't "ring" like mine.

Starting to get a little worrying actually.

 

I had a hearing test.
It indicated a disproportionate hearing loss in my right ear which led to a brain scan cos it can indicate a growth on the ear nerves I was told.
There was nowt there but my high frequency hearing in my right ear is down compared to my right.
However when you do the test you'll see why that could easily happen!

 

Welcome to the club Andy.

Chris, As Steve says it could be your room. The soundstage in my room is similar to how you've described it. I.e. just to the left of centre (are we talking politics here? ). I'm pretty sure it's the room, because I can move the soundstage by playing with speaker positioning.

 

Ditto;-)

 

Great, I feel better now.

I'm having trouble tracking the cause as it's NOT loud music. Had some hard water ski hits on the water several years ago but it's hard to place when it started to be a problem. It kinda creeps up on you.

 

Get a pair of reasonable headphones and a tone generator program for the computer. You can then test your hearing very easily to the full audio bandwidth. I hear to 21KHz in my right ear but only to 18KHz in my left. I'm pretty sure that is down to a loud gig where my left side was near the speakers.

I also have a suspicion that my eustacian tubes are a bit clogged up. Can anything be done to clear these? I do suffer from sinus problems a bit.

Andy, go to the ENT doctor!!!

 

And again! I went to the doctors a couple of years back, complaining of that 'just come out of a gig' noise in my ears, and was basically told 'tough, get used to it coz it isn't going away'

Tinnitus is a real drag, but at least it stops me trying for those 'oh so subtle' tweaks with cables, etc.

 

I know someone who likes good sound quality because it doesn't set off her Tinnitus like bad SQ does.

 

hearing tests are a great (if you can call it that) thing. The standard test goes to approx 7.8Khz. the upmarket version goes to 18khz. if you an't hear 7Khz take up fishing!

 

The tinnitus can be a drag. Recent medication changes have increased it somewhat for me, but with good sound quality I agree with the lady whom Tenson refers to - it isn't quite as bad.

Now if only I could get rid of the voices! :crazy:

 

I have had ringing to some degree for a long time but it's only the last 6 months I have started to concentrate on it. It's hard to know if it actually gotten worse or I have just become more paranoid.

Living in a VERY quiet rural area doesn't help matters either...

I will be seeing an ENT about it.

 

I read somewhere that certain foods can make it worse/better. I think it was over on PSW. Foods high in vitamin E I think(but that could be the one to make it worse! check first).
Head colds make it much worse/more noticable in my case 'cos first thing to go is top end from outside world that just leaves the 'internal self generating tinitus to concentrate on.
Cooky

 

I have to say I agree with much that has been said .....

I also doubt that its a hearing issue ....but as I'm not with you or a qualified practioner then I'll say no more.

you could try a simple mono recording this should give a strong central image and if your gear is in fine fettle then you should hear it in the centre position.

Assuming that you still don't ...beg borrow steal a set of head phones and do the same again ....if you don't hear it ...its a speaker issue. if you still can then its source or amp.

don't you have any friends with half decent kit ? get your self over and listen to theirs .

 

Zanash, Tenson et al.,
Thanks for all the ideas.
I tried a tone generating programme through phones and can't seem to detect much difference between left and right levels, although I would seem to hear very little above 10khz ( maybe down to my DT351 phones - must try another tone generator)

Changing the source from vinyl to Macbook doesn't change things. When you say it's probably a speaker issue, are you referring to the room as in speaker position. Of course, I have tried swapping speakers left and right and the situation doesn't change. I need to place the right hand speaker well forward of the left hand speaker (like 1 metre) to get the image centred which is clearly a no-no so I guess I will have to try a balance control - could one be knocked up in a separate box to uiuse with my a21SE ?.

 

HI Chris

There may be a slightly less dramatic cause (but do get it checked out medically ,just in case) and that is build up of ear wax.
This may cause a drop in one ear causing the problem you have .Or it could be the layout of the room ,bay window to one side ,furniture or one wall is boast and others solid.

Ear Wax is easy to get rid of loads of formulas available from the chemist or your doctor can sort it out . Week of treatment with fluid and then a visit to the nurse practitioner to have your ears sucked out(not as dramatic as it sounds).

Best to get it checked out ,we men can be very good at ignoring things ;at least those things which matter ie our health.

And don't go sticking things in your ears ,if the wax doesn't come out on its own ,then you will need to go to the doctor. Pushing things in your ear could damage your hearing for ever;so no cotton wool buds or screwed up tissue paper etc.

Regards D louth.