Hearing aids for hearing bird calls (2 Viewers)

[miketaylor]

Hi all,

I'd like to find out about people's experience with the use of hearing aids to help hear high pitched bird calls.

In recent years I've noticed that I can no longer hear some higher pitched bird calls, e.g. Redwings' 'seep' calls when flying overhead, and I can't hear crickets any more (in the UK). I'm aware that hearing at higher frequencies can deteriorate as one gets older, but it's a bit frustrating as I used to be much sharper at detecting birds on call than by sight (e.g. detecting a Red-throated Pipit on Scilly by its call and then seeing it drop into a field).

I got my hearing checked out by the NHS and found out that I had "mild to moderate" hearing loss above 5kHz, and "borderline" hearing loss in the normal speech range. They said I may benefit from hearing aids, so they gave me Oticon Synergy Sense BTE digital hearing aids. I'm told that these are very good, especially as they are free, but I keep wondering about the top of the range hearing aids, which could cost up to £5k for a pair. They have improved my hearing, but I still find problems hearing bird calls. I think the cutoff frequency is a bit higher, but now some of the calls sound a bit different from before (i.e. I'm now hearing the lower frequency part of the call, rather than not hearing it at all before).

I'm sure many other birders must have similar issues - especially as most seem to be of my generation (60+)!

It would be good to hear of other people's experience...

Mike

 

[etudiant]

It may have changed in the last few years, but as of about 2015, the frequency range of even top tier hearing aids here in the US was only up to 8000Hz. That limits their coverage for much of the repertory of our passerines, especially our warblers.
I've read that some birders have been pleased using frequency shifting hearing aids to transpose the calls to a lower frequency range. They were probably using some sort of bat detector, which has that kind of capability.
Hearing aids are still a work in progress unfortunately, they do not help alleviate hearing loss anywhere nearly as effectively as glasses help manage fading eyesight.

 

[miketaylor]

It may have changed in the last few years, but as of about 2015, the frequency range of even top tier hearing aids here in the US was only up to 8000Hz. That limits their coverage for much of the repertory of our passerines, especially our warblers.

That's interesting, though a bit disappointing...

 

[pdwinter]

There was SongFinder but unfortunately it is no longer in production. http://hearbirdsagain.com/ has some information and explains why it worked better than ordinary hearing aids.

 

[colincurry]

Hearing aids

I have had hearing aids for 15 years. I started with the NHS BTE Oticon Synergy. For vanity's sake, when our younger son got married, I tried some in the ear aids from Specsavers and these were OK but eventually gave up the ghost. I then tried other versions from Specsavers at around £2k but none of these worked properly.

The NHS audiology service is provided either in-house or by Specsavers. You have no choice in the matter and I was pleased to be treated in-house. I went back to the NHS who supplied updated Oticon BTE which were fine. About 18 months ago, I returned to the NHS for another hearing test which resulted in me receiving the latest Oticon Synergy BTE which improved matters. Unfortunately, the aids made my ears so sore that I was reluctant to use them; which rather defeats the object. Back I went and was given some soft molds which had an anti-allergy treatment. These were OK at first but eventually the soreness returned. Luckily, I have now been given Oticon Spirit Zest Plus where the receiver is in the ear (RITE) resulting in a smaller microphone behind the ear and a much thinner tube leading into the ear. I have been very well treated by the NHS which does not normally supply RITE aids.

I also did consider going private and went to one of high street suppliers. The top range of RITE was around £5k and the B range about £3.5k. Which has an interesting article on aids pointing out that the high street suppliers with their huge overheads and commission systems may not provide the best buy. I then tried a local small supplier with good internet reviews and the cost was around half. As I was in touch with the NHS, I decided to hold off for the time being and I am glad that I did.

It might be worth approaching an audiologist asking for a test and advice on an aid for birding. You would be under no obligation and should receive proper technical advice on your wish to hear better with higher frequencies.

I think probably that my hearing might be worse than yours and using any of the aids has made a huge difference - not that I am an expert on birdsong.

One final thing. Many years ago, I attended an evening course about birds at Swansea University. At the end of the course, the tutor took us up into Singleton Park. He remarked on the song from Goldcrests and Firecrests - I could hear nothing - probably would have been better with hearing aids!

Colin

 

[miketaylor]

Thanks the comprehensive reply. It's good to hear about other peoples' experience.

I've had a "free" hearing assessment from one of the smaller high street chains, and was told that the top-of-the-range would help with clarity with background noise. My next approach is to try an independent audiologist to get a second opinion, and perhaps take up a 60-day free trial.

Mike

 

[bonxie birder]

I have Specsavers Videx hearing aids which are not cheap and while they have definitely improved my hearing with human sounds, it still doesn’t enable me to hear most high pitched passerine calls. Grasshopper warblers are an absolute no go. I can’t hear even when the person next to me says they loudly reeling nearby. Funnily enough I seem to be able to pick up treecreepers but not goldcrests. An added misfortune is the stereo is lost and I find it very difficult to locate birds in dense foliage, requiring my long suffering non birding wife to help me locate.
I would welcome any ideas that may aid me and surely many others

 

[Marineke]

Thanks for all that. I am a newbie when it comes to hearing aid. Will have a hearing test at Boots next week . Can't hear the high pitched birds anymore and would love to hear them again as I do birds surveys. Any recommendation for high frequency aid would be very much welcomed. Also good to know about the NHS, although I read recently that the waiting list for a hearing test on the NHS in my part of Scotland is one year....

 

[LittleBitOfBreadNoCheese]

Thanks for all that. I am a newbie when it comes to hearing aid. Will have a hearing test at Boots next week . Can't hear the high pitched birds anymore and would love to hear them again as I do birds surveys. Any recommendation for high frequency aid would be very much welcomed. Also good to know about the NHS, although I read recently that the waiting list for a hearing test on the NHS in my part of Scotland is one year....

Don't Boots do testing for free?

Here for you | Boots Hearingcare

Book a 15-minute hearing check at Boots Hearingcare for insights into your auditory health.

www.bootshearingcare.com

 

[Marineke]

Don't Boots do testing for free?

Here for you | Boots Hearingcare

Book a 15-minute hearing check at Boots Hearingcare for insights into your auditory health.

www.bootshearingcare.com

Yes they do, but if you want to get free hearing aids you have to go through a NHS (Grampian) test, at the hospital..., for which there is a one-year waiting list, or so I read online. Anyway, I get a free Boots test next week and take it from there. Will contact my GP as well.

 

[John Cantelo]

Unfortunately, in my experience, if your ears can no longer detect certain frequency bands then no amount of amplification makes any difference. If you have some residual hearing at those frequencies they can make it easier to hear them. It's a shame that there doesn't seem to be the market to sustain a new version of the "SongFinder" using technology like Bluetooth etc. I find that the judicious use the Merlin app makes a great difference. Knowing a species is calling/singing allows you to employ your field skills to locate them.

 

[Ribbon]

Great to find this tread.

For me hearing loss unfortunately is a genetic thing. In my family almost everyone has it in some sort of way and I already got treated for it in my teens.

As a birder it's really confronting when not hearing the Tree pipits on your migration spot when everybody else does. That's why I started using hearing aids when I was in my mid 30's. It was a great improvement, I never go birding without them and it definitely helped me get some ticks which I otherwise would have missed.

Of course the aids don't solve all the problems. For example some (distant) Grasshopper warblers stay unnoticed by me while others do hear them.
So, for me at least, not only frequency but also distance plays a role.

I thinks a lot of birders (older and younger) would benefit from hearing aids and sometimes it's remarkable that this isn't discussed in the same way as using glasses is. It sometimes even occurs to me that there a lot of shame involved and more birders suffer hearing loss then we might think.

 

[Marineke]

Unfortunately, in my experience, if your ears can no longer detect certain frequency bands then no amount of amplification makes any difference. If you have some residual hearing at those frequencies they can make it easier to hear them. It's a shame that there doesn't seem to be the market to sustain a new version of the "SongFinder" using technology like Bluetooth etc. I find that the judicious use the Merlin app makes a great difference. Knowing a species is calling/singing allows you to employ your field skills to locate them.

Yes, the Merlin app picks up a LOT more than my ears... not always correct though.

 

[John Cantelo]

It's probably more age (I'm in my 70s) than genetics that accounts for my hearing loss (although my mother was very deaf all her life).

I've also "lost" Tree Pipits plus 'crests, Common (but not Short-toed) Treecreeper, Locustella warblers, Redwing, etc. I'd agree that distance is an important element - I can hear Bearded Tits if they're very close but not if they're much beyond 10-20m. Similarly, there are species I can just hear if I concentrate very hard - usually when someone else calls them first - which I'd otherwise miss. I also find some songs (again esp. at a distance) have become an unrecognisable series of disconnected notes as I can't hear some of the component notes that link the song together (e.g. Skylark). I think our reluctance to admit to hearing loss, unlike declining visual acuity, is partly due to societal attitudes. In my experience, people are far more inclined to make jibes (meant good-humouredly) about deafness & hearing aids than they are about sight loss & wearing glasses.

As noted above Merlin App does help but it often doesn't pick up tendrils of sound my ears can detect but not recognise due to the above problems. Does a better/external microphone make any difference? It'd be helpful too to have greater 'directionality' in the app

 

[John Cantelo]

Yes, the Merlin app picks up a LOT more than my ears... not always correct though.

Agreed but that's where experience can come into play and moderate what you're being told by the App. Chaffinch/Redstart is a notorious glitch. I've also found it useful to play back the recording the App makes since with my mobile glued to my ear I can sometimes hear the song/call that I missed in the field.

 

[Hilltopper]

Agreed but that's where experience can come into play and moderate what you're being told by the App. Chaffinch/Redstart is a notorious glitch. I've also found it useful to play back the recording the App makes since with my mobile glued to my ear I can sometimes hear the song/call that I missed in the field.

I agree that sensible use of Merlin is very helpful for age-related hearing loss even with aids. The app can flag up a bird call or song and I then try and see it or make a focussed effort to hear it. Reviewing the recordings with earphones can find birds I’ve missed in the field. Most frustratingly I now can’t hear Cuckoos unless they are quite loud. My wife can hear them on a recording when I can’t.
My aids are NHS Phonak Nathos Nova: they’re essential for my everyday hearing but still won’t let me pick up the sounds of the difficult species.
Tony

 

[kb57]

I've got significant deterioration in hearing higher frequencies, plus left-ear tinnitus, a legacy no doubt of too many metal band gigs in my youth - I think my left ear hearing threshold is something like 60dB at 6kHz, and over 70dB at 8kHz.
I finally gave in to my partner's nagging and got myself some hearing aids a couple of months ago - I went privately as I was leaving NHS care anyway through moving abroad, but I knew as soon as I smelled the scented candles in the waiting room it was going to be expensive...and I wasn't wrong. After a hearing test confirmed continued deterioration (tested 10 years previously, when trying to get my tinnitus treated, my thresholds were about 10dB or more better), I was persuaded to part with GBP 4.5k for a pair of Oticon Real aids.
I have to say my experience has been somewhat mixed - it hasn't really helped my tinnitus; background noise is more intrusive than it used to be; and the sound quality is frankly terrible for streaming music from Tidal, and not great when answering phonecalls in a noisy environment (although they were able to tweak the settings a little). I struggle to see how they can justify that pricing, although a lot must go via commission to pay for the audiologists time with me - not to mention the scented candles in reception!
For birding it has improved things a lot through enhancement of upper frequencies, to the point where I am hearing things that Merlin isn't picking up, rather than the other way round, and thinking like John that I might need to invest in an external mike for the iPhone. I heard a distant Common Cuckoo a while back which I definitely wouldn't have been able to pick out before, while nightingales and Cetti's warblers sound really loud!
The high frequency boost has made listening to music a somewhat different experience too - I used to listen to Tidal streamed from my iPhone to a DAC, and thence to my amp and speakers - this sounds somewhat jarring with the aids in, whereas I'm enjoying listening to my LPs much more, where high frequencies are more rolled off.

 

[kb57]

It's probably more age (I'm in my 70s) than genetics that accounts for my hearing loss (although my mother was very deaf all her life).

I've also "lost" Tree Pipits plus 'crests, Common (but not Short-toed) Treecreeper, Locustella warblers, Redwing, etc. I'd agree that distance is an important element - I can hear Bearded Tits if they're very close but not if they're much beyond 10-20m. Similarly, there are species I can just hear if I concentrate very hard - usually when someone else calls them first - which I'd otherwise miss. I also find some songs (again esp. at a distance) have become an unrecognisable series of disconnected notes as I can't hear some of the component notes that link the song together (e.g. Skylark). I think our reluctance to admit to hearing loss, unlike declining visual acuity, is partly due to societal attitudes. In my experience, people are far more inclined to make jibes (meant good-humouredly) about deafness & hearing aids than they are about sight loss & wearing glasses.

As noted above Merlin App does help but it often doesn't pick up tendrils of sound my ears can detect but not recognise due to the above problems. Does a better/external microphone make any difference? It'd be helpful too to have greater 'directionality' in the app

Unfortunately true, people (especially including my partner!) somehow find it amusing to point out what you can't hear, whether it's a cuckoo or a distant siren. I can still hear both species of treecreeper, but the most recent common treecreeper I heard was literally 2 metres away from me, so I guess I don't know what I've been missing!

 

[KenM]

Got my hearing aids from Boots 2 years ago! They’ve brought back songs and calls from my youth which previously (last 30+years) I could not detect!
I had them “tailored” to high pitch, now I can hear (previously couldn’t) Goldcrest (call and song), flyover Greenfinch, Linnet, Skylark, distant Cuckoo, Willow Warbler!
To put it another way…I sleep with the window open to the garden, I rise and before I insert my aids It’s deathly silent!
Slip the aids on and I’ve got “instant” Chiffchaff, Robin, Blackcap, Wren, and Blackbird blasting away…they’ve brought back my youth.👍