Before I took back the Phonak Marvel HAs the other day, I went through each instrumental track of a great hi-rez demo disc with HAs in and out:
https://www.hdtracks.com/audiophile-hi-res-system-test
I heard everything fine without the HAs! NICE! I think I am feeling so much better now than those last few months of 2018; and I have become a better listener and perhaps retrained my brain to pay more attention to sounds like higher frequency instruments than before. And I can even hear some at 12.5 kHz test tone. I noticed that at 10 kHz test tone that it actually seemed louder without the HAs!
I discussed this with my Audiologist. My theory is:
1. I am CRAZY!
2. Even though my recent hearing test is similar to before, I am much healthier now and my ear/brain is processing so much better; and I have trained myself to better discern higher frequencies and placement of sounds than before.
3. #2 but I am still CRAZY!
My Audiologist was simply being nice to me and said she thought #2 was applicable.
Now at 66, I will see the ENT Dr Gonzalez once annually to have my ears cleaned, and see my Audiologist Lainie Hales, Au.D., both at Valley ENT in Mesa also annually to get my hearing retested. I highly recommend both of them! What's really nice is Dr. Hales has recognized all along that I am OCD on this audiophile stuff and she was very interested in all of my feedback on demoing the hearing aids and actually happy for me that my hearing/interpretation of what I hear has so remarkably improved since the last few months of 2018.
And keep in mind I am not TOTALLY CRAZY! The last few months of 2018, without HAs I could only half hear a 8 kHz test tone and nothing at 10 kHz and with HAs I could hear 8 kHz more fully and even 10 kHz maybe at half, nothing beyond. Now without HAs I can hear 8 kHz and 10 kHz clearly and even hear 12.5 kHz partially!
ANd I am so enjoying my recent change of SSPs from Theta Casablanca IVA SSP (had the Theta with upgrades since 1997) to Trinnov Altitude 32, the latter ROON Ready (ethernet) and using Auro-3D (playing stereo using entire multi-channel audio system) I am listening at closer to real concert levels and it sounds so much better than ever that I am having a hard time leaving my audiophile home theatre where I am listening and listening to so much music!
