iluvcans
100+ Head-Fier
- Joined
- Dec 27, 2004
- Posts
- 129
- Likes
- 10
(I am a musician and use my ear(s) to produce my income)..
I am in the midst of including a Digi-K hearing aid (produced by Etymotic) full time-- in my arsenal of professional musical production/enjoyment. I have owned the aid for about a week and a half and being the picky consumer that I am, I contacted Etymotic directly for some answers (to try and get the most from my aid). I must say first off, that I've been extremely pleased with the quality of this hearing aid-- I just want to make sure I'm getting 100% from it. Well, I'm getting much more than I bargained from Etymotic...
I was contacted by Etymotic's audiologist with a response to my questions (via email) and then after a bit of waiting, I got a call from the man himself-- Mead Killion! This caught me off guard, yet I understand as this guy is obviously commited to his company and the quality of his products. Mead was great to talk to and he wants me to be happy with my hearing aid. Most readers here will completely understand as the reputation of Etymotic, especially the er4 canal phones is legendary.. Anyway, I mailed my aid to Etymotic and am curious to see what will come from this. The programing of a digital hearing aid is complicated (especially when you have only one aid-- as you are using your other ear as a "reference" ear and basically trying to incorporate an electronic device into your body's god given physiology). Mead has promised me a "custom" fitting for this aid-- as my audiologist here in town is not familiar with this aid and there remains a possibility that my aid isn't programmed correctly to my hearing deficiencies.
Hearing aids are sure to be an important topic in the future of head-fi.... I promise to post my findings from my research on the digi-k hearing aid as soon as I get it back-- so that I can benefit any other head-fiers that might need to get an aid now or in the future. From what I can see so far, Etymotic produces an extremely competent product and they have done more research in respect to hearing aid testing for musicans (and consequently audiophile related areas) than any other aid manufacturer that I know of. I understand that the idea of "digital" anything might not qualify a product for being truly "audiophile" grade-- for some individuals.. However, it remains inevitable that the bulk of current hearing aid production exists in the digital realm. Analog will be dead soon and digital is at the moment the most easily accesible. Perhaps as more and more individuals require hearing aids-- the fidelity of these aids will increase due to demands of the publuc. But for now, we have to accept the trend for the digital aid, as it is the reality of the future. I will post more when my aid returns.
I am in the midst of including a Digi-K hearing aid (produced by Etymotic) full time-- in my arsenal of professional musical production/enjoyment. I have owned the aid for about a week and a half and being the picky consumer that I am, I contacted Etymotic directly for some answers (to try and get the most from my aid). I must say first off, that I've been extremely pleased with the quality of this hearing aid-- I just want to make sure I'm getting 100% from it. Well, I'm getting much more than I bargained from Etymotic...
I was contacted by Etymotic's audiologist with a response to my questions (via email) and then after a bit of waiting, I got a call from the man himself-- Mead Killion! This caught me off guard, yet I understand as this guy is obviously commited to his company and the quality of his products. Mead was great to talk to and he wants me to be happy with my hearing aid. Most readers here will completely understand as the reputation of Etymotic, especially the er4 canal phones is legendary.. Anyway, I mailed my aid to Etymotic and am curious to see what will come from this. The programing of a digital hearing aid is complicated (especially when you have only one aid-- as you are using your other ear as a "reference" ear and basically trying to incorporate an electronic device into your body's god given physiology). Mead has promised me a "custom" fitting for this aid-- as my audiologist here in town is not familiar with this aid and there remains a possibility that my aid isn't programmed correctly to my hearing deficiencies.
Hearing aids are sure to be an important topic in the future of head-fi.... I promise to post my findings from my research on the digi-k hearing aid as soon as I get it back-- so that I can benefit any other head-fiers that might need to get an aid now or in the future. From what I can see so far, Etymotic produces an extremely competent product and they have done more research in respect to hearing aid testing for musicans (and consequently audiophile related areas) than any other aid manufacturer that I know of. I understand that the idea of "digital" anything might not qualify a product for being truly "audiophile" grade-- for some individuals.. However, it remains inevitable that the bulk of current hearing aid production exists in the digital realm. Analog will be dead soon and digital is at the moment the most easily accesible. Perhaps as more and more individuals require hearing aids-- the fidelity of these aids will increase due to demands of the publuc. But for now, we have to accept the trend for the digital aid, as it is the reality of the future. I will post more when my aid returns.
