Quote:

Hi Scott
My ENT specialist has no idea why that drop at 500 - makes working with root frequencies difficult - not much range available. I've had every diagnostic test plus an MRI. Only theories. May have something to do with my negligible balance capabilities . . . only about 20 % in one of the ears - trying to remember which one. About two years ago the drop to 90db occurred suddenly, almost overnight.
Dizzy for a day or two and then gone. No way to really examine the cochlea and find out what's going on.
My left ear has always been the stronger. It's better positioned frequency-wise to give me the melodic info I need for recording my voice - not very good for speech though.

I have a question about Westone ITEs- are the on-board speakers the same as Hearing Aid speakers? One or two companies make all? I'm also supposing that the ITEs carry a broader range of frequencies because, unlike HAids, their sound source is NOT a pin-head microphone. I'm also going to assume that the ITEs, unlike HAids, do not have on-board adjustable frequency chips, and that most of the frequency adjustment takes place before the sound comes to the ITEs.
I'm trying to figure out here if technically such a setup with ITEs would work for me.
My headphones are Radio Shack 15 years ago variety which cover the ear. They will have to be replaced.

Ian



Ian,

Westone does not make ITE hearing aids. They only make In-Ear-Monitors. The drivers are similar in type (balanced armature drivers) to hearing aids, but they are not the same. I know of no hearing aids, whether behind the ear, in the ear or completely in canal that use more than one driver per ear. The hearing aid companies are going for compactness first (for appearance purposes) - usually, rather than power. Keep in mind they are concerned about battery life as well. So a multi-driver setup in a hearing aid is really at cross-purposes with these other goals. Also, generally hearing aids are aimed a 'speech' region, even with all of the various programs available in digital hearing aids these days.

Our in-ear monitors are 1, 2, 3 or 5 driver arrangements with crossover networks, in either a custom fit shell, or a universal fit package with a tip fitting kit. One of the main advantages is how they seal against outside noise; I've testing my hearing thresholds without my monitors and then with my custom fit ES-5 monitors in place, and I get an average of 39 dB attenuation across the board! Now, I will say that these babies are a bit tight, but since they are custom, it's not really uncomfortable, just 'different'. That attenuation allows me to play the levels out of them quite low. Also, since they are crossed over, with each driver getting a specific range, we can optimize balance and power just as you do with a traditional hi-fi speaker setup.

Our 5-driver monitors are not '5-way'. They are in fact 3 way, but some of the drivers are arranged in a fashion similar to some subwoofer designs, where one uses two drivers to push the same airspace out of a port.

I should ask - do you have custom fit earpieces for your BTE's? If not, that is one place to start to get more bass extension out of hearing aids in general. The dome-tips that come standard with BTE aids really don't seal very well for most people. Your hearing loss would be considered somewhat profound and one way to make the HA more efficient is with a custom fit earpiece. I've watched patients eyes light up with their increased output of their Hearing Aids when they went from dome tips to a custom fit earpiece. Most recently with someone wearing Phonak BTEs with slim-tube dome tip earpieces.

Best wishes in your endeavor. I'll try to keep you posted with any developments that we spoke of back several months ago.

-Scott

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