Hearing issues and signal attenuation

Thanks Pryso. I have no doubt that aids are in my future at some point and for more than just listening to music but, as I mentioned, I purchased a graphic EQ today and finished installing it about 2 hours ago. There's no doubt that an equalizer will be a permanent addition for at least until that time that I find a way to use hearing aids.

The frequency control is impressive and the ability to bring the stage to the center where it belongs brings even more enjoyment back into listening than I had anticipated. The only drawback so far is that I think it degraded the overall sound quality which may only be a matter of adjusting to this new balance.

The EQ I bought is an older Soundcraftsmen 12 band per channel unit with sliders that are a bit rough so I'm going to be looking for advice in my search for its replacement that won't break my bank.

"The only drawback so far is that I think it degraded the overall sound quality which may only be a matter of adjusting to this new balance."

If you get a digital EQ you can output to a DAC. Most people feel that you'll get better sound if you EQ a digital signal before it gets converted to analogue.

You might consider some pro audio gear for your EQ.

"with my aids up to 4 EQs are possible"

I just read Broadstone's reply and realized someone might misinterpret what I meant to say just prior to that. My devices have four unique memory settings. Any combination of frequency gain or reduction, noise filtering, and directionality can be programmed (by the audiologist) for each of those four. The range of frequency adjustments is from 500 to 8K Hz.

Many hearing aid manufacturers offer a recommended response for music but I found a custom setting was needed for the most natural musical tones.

Maybe I should start a separate thread for this question but I'll try it here in regard to adjusting the EQ. Now that I have the experimental equalizer in place I've been attempting to achieve the R/L balance not just for volume balance but for frequency balance as well. This activity is not as straightforward as I, without much thought, anticipated because changes especially in the mid to upper frequencies affect the directionality and, therefore, perception of where the sound source is strongest.

So, this is the approach I've been trying. Starting with right and left channels set at neutral volume and flat frequency settings I used an audio test CD and stepped through frequencies listening to how closely centered the signal seems. As I come to a frequency that appears weighted to the right side I adjust the dB on the left side of that approximate frequency upward until the tone centers. I do this through to 8 KHz where my ability to hear pretty much ends.

Here's where it stops being simple. It seems that increasing the dB of those frequencies resulted in my overall perception of balance change when listening to music, migrating now to the left side. Using music to adjust balance, though, has other issues, mostly I think, based on how the music was recorded in the first place. For example, I listen to some small jazz groups which seem to record in a way that represents poisoning of various instruments accentuating, for example, that drums are located at stage right. This seems especially to be the case with the older recordings when there seems to have been more effort given to demonstrating stereo effect.

I don't claim to know what I'm doing here but, regardless of that, I'm very much satisfied, so far, with the listening improvement resulting from the addition of this equalizer.