boatymacboat - Posted - 11/29/2025:  02:42:53

Hi everyone.
As the subject states my post is about playing with hearing aids. I have mild hearing loss. I can still hear stuff but struggle with the high frequencies and when there's background noise like in busy pubs.

I have been issued with some NHS hearing aids this week. The technician said I need to wear them all day and persevere with the strange effects while my brain re-calculates, these being echo-like and tinny sounds etc. This may take 2-3 weeks he said. Fair enough.

When I picked up my banjo it sounded horrendous, very thin and ringy with very distracting overtones, even a bit dulcimer like. I put more stuffing in the back and it sounded much the same but quieter. Concern crossed my furrowed brow, to say the least. Oh well, the nice Faizal said to persevere - so I keep them in.

Off to practice my ukulele in the evening as our uke group has gig this weekend. Different but not totally horrid. Mmmm.

I played a bit of banjo the next day but it still sounded awful (to me?). I then played it with the hearing aids out (and back to my normal small face-cloth stuffing) and it sounded muffled and somehow lacked clarity and sustain. Seemed very different to my mind than before wearing the aids, kind of like it was in a bucket. Doh. Hearing aids back in as they definitely make life easier for me (and others!).

Has anybody had any experience of this issue. Everything informs that things will settle down as my brain re-computes but I'm not convinced. I think I really do need the hearing aids for everyday life but so far I am far from happy with the effect on my banjo and ukulele playing.

3 options as I see it:

1. Keep hearing aids in and hope it does sort itself out.
2. Take aids out when playing (but then will my brain forever hear a dull muffled banjo?).
3. Bin the aids and go back to how I was.

Discuss...as they used to say in school.

Boblamoy - Posted - 11/29/2025:  02:58:18

If your aides have volume control, try turning them down a click or 2. If I play with my aides at "normal" volume I hear what sounds like the top 2 strings sypathetically vibrating. If I go down 2 clicks, those overtones are gone.

banjobob36 - Posted - 11/29/2025:  04:13:00

Make an appt with your hearing specialist and take your instruments and aids and The professional can make the necessary adjustment to your aids.

Tim Jumper - Posted - 11/29/2025:  05:00:42

Experiment with the various settings and volumes, as well as how deep you push them in the ear canal.
Compared to my grandpappy's clumsy wired-plug-from-ear-to-shirt-pocket-receiver, the new aids are a technological great leap forward, but far from perfect.

HSmith - Posted - 11/29/2025:  05:13:31

Hi Dave

I guess I'm in the same position as you. I'm in the UK, and was prescribed NHS hearing aids 3 years ago. Since they're standard NHS, I imagine the devices are exactly the same (Signia Contrast S). Sadly, I've never been able to use them while playing banjo for exactly the reasons you describe. No matter what setting (of the four pre-set choices) and volume chosen, the banjo (or guitar or any other instrument) sounds awful. I've been back to the audiologist and explained the issue. She made some tweaks to the device (which made no appreciable difference) and said that they are just not capable of processing that kind of sound. These basic NHS aids are designed as a low-cost solution for the man in the street who wants to hear speech on the TV, not for musicians. Her advice was to arrange a private consultation with an audiologist who specializes in helping musicians, and be prepared to pay upwards of £4000. So far, I've opted to keep playing without the hearing aids. I'm due a review this month, where I believe I'm entitled to a device upgrade. I don't have any expectation that they'll be much better.

BobbyE - Posted - 11/29/2025:  06:13:40

My hearing aids allow me to adjust them to help with what you are experiencing and then save those settings to a program I named, 'banjo.' If yours don't have that feature your hearing aid provider might can set up a program like this in their office. At any rate, the aids are never going to replicate natural hearing but with some adjusting they can get closer than what your present experience is. Like someone else said, I also have to reduce the volume, so it won't be too loud and cause further problems with hearing. Good luck and hope you get them sorted.

Bobby

jack_beuthin - Posted - 11/29/2025:  06:23:27

I’ve been wearing hearing aids for a couple of years. Everything Harry Smith said rings true with my experience (although I am in the US). If you want hearing aids that will properly process music, you will need high end aids with a lot of “levers” that your audiologist/audio tech can adjust. Oticon (what I have) and Widex stand out as brands that are used by musicians. I took my banjo to the first adjustment appointment and the audiologist dialed them in beautifully. Music actually sounds better with the aids when they are on the music setting.



Btw, my audio profile sounds similar to yours—high frequencies and noisy situations are the problem.

And yes, it can take a few weeks for your brain to adjust.  For the first week or so, I could only wear the aids for a few hours a day.  Too much neural input--it was annoying and exhausting.  But then, one spring day I went walking along the path the runs through my neighborhood.  I sat on a bench across from a willow thicket along the creek with my aids turned off.  I heard an occasional bird call coming out of the thicket.  Then I turned the aids on.  Suddenly, I heard an entire chorus of blackbirds raising a ruckus.  Night and day difference.  That, more than any audiogram, convinced me that I needed the hearing aids.

I hope you can get it worked out.  It's a process.



Here is a good video discussing hear aids for musicians that will also give you some talking points at your next adjustment visit.

youtu.be/5h_v9JBRvEw?si=LM7rbY1fQ25MnMBe

Here also is a checklist for optimizing your aids for music.  I took this one to my audiologist and she said that she even learned a couple new things::

grandpianopassion.com/chasin-o...ds-music/

banjoman56 - Posted - 11/29/2025:  10:22:48

I have severe hearing loss in the high pitch range and have hearing aids. I asked the audiologist if they would make a difference in the way my banjo sounded to me and she said they could, but she adjusted them and told me if I had problems to bring the banjo in and she would fine tune them. One of the first things I did when I got home is get my banjo out and played it. It sounded like the same out of time, bunch of missed notes and muffled notes that it always had Lol! I really couldn't tell any difference it the tone at all. The volume was increased of course, but I've either learned to pick softer or I have got used to the increased volume. They have been no problem at all for me!

Phil - MO - Posted - 11/29/2025:  10:45:29

banjoman56: what brand do you have.

Stephen John Prior - Posted - 11/29/2025:  11:44:55

quote:

---

Originally posted by boatymacboat

Hi everyone.

As the subject states my post is about playing with hearing aids. I have mild hearing loss. I can still hear stuff but struggle with the high frequencies and when there's background noise like in busy pubs.



I have been issued with some NHS hearing aids this week. The technician said I need to wear them all day and persevere with the strange effects while my brain re-calculates, these being echo-like and tinny sounds etc. This may take 2-3 weeks he said. Fair enough.



When I picked up my banjo it sounded horrendous, very thin and ringy with very distracting overtones, even a bit dulcimer like. I put more stuffing in the back and it sounded much the same but quieter. Concern crossed my furrowed brow, to say the least. Oh well, the nice Faizal said to persevere - so I keep them in.



Off to practice my ukulele in the evening as our uke group has gig this weekend. Different but not totally horrid. Mmmm.



I played a bit of banjo the next day but it still sounded awful (to me?). I then played it with the hearing aids out (and back to my normal small face-cloth stuffing) and it sounded muffled and somehow lacked clarity and sustain. Seemed very different to my mind than before wearing the aids, kind of like it was in a bucket. Doh. Hearing aids back in as they definitely make life easier for me (and others!).



Has anybody had any experience of this issue. Everything informs that things will settle down as my brain re-computes but I'm not convinced. I think I really do need the hearing aids for everyday life but so far I am far from happy with the effect on my banjo and ukulele playing.



3 options as I see it:



1. Keep hearing aids in and hope it does sort itself out.

2. Take aids out when playing (but then will my brain forever hear a dull muffled banjo?).

3. Bin the aids and go back to how I was.



Discuss...as they used to say in school.

I've had my NHS hearing aids for 15 years. My experience was exactly the same as yours. It will improve it just takes time. 

boatymacboat - Posted - 11/30/2025:  04:00:46

Thanks for the input team. The videos were very informative, brilliant. I have a follow-up appointment in a couple of weeks and this information should be of a great help.

The devices are "danalogic ambio smart model 77".

Went to the gig last night with our ukulele group...it was quite a busy atmosphere (a quiz night - our team came third!). The hearing aids were no problem at all during our "set" and I found the sound of my uke much improved from the first day. Different, but better. I was also pleased at how the devices helped my harmonising when singing. They also helped massively when just socialising etc.

Back to my banjo...had a short picking session before setting off for the gig last night and I felt there was a slight improvement...perhaps.

I think the best option is to persevere with them and discuss at my next appointment. Things are definitely improving, as during the day I don't even notice I'm wearing them now. It also seems like we have had a massive influx of tweety birds along the hedgerows when I am out walking my dog!!

I shall update on my progress as and when.

Dai Evans - Posted - 11/30/2025:  05:20:32

I have similar problems with lack of high tone and lack of discrimination in crowded settings. I have been wearing Oticon hearing aids for 5 years and was really impressed at the benefits, being able to hear humming birds twitter and the wind in trees. The downside was that all the appliances in the Kitchen make irritating noises when they have completed their cycle ??.
When attending a group lesson with Chris Quin last year I learned about a major downside to these hearing aids, I could not hear my own banjo over the sound of everyone else’s instruments. I am an intermediate player and had aspirations of being able to play at a local jam but my thoughts are now that I have no chance. Perhaps next time that I do this I will try without hearing aids.
Does anyone have this problem and if so, what was your solution?

sunburst - Posted - 11/30/2025:  09:26:20

At nearly 70 years old I have preserved my hearing pretty well, and other than a bit of tinnitus (gradually increasing) my hearing is generally good, and various experiences indicating much better than many people my age.
I played drums in rock and roll, variety and country bands for years. Sat behind a drum set with a big, tall Marshal guitar amp right behind my right shoulder, that sort of thing. When I was still playing drums I got a pair of Sonic Sound Filters. They were like ear plugs but the attenuation was weighted toward high frequencies. The idea was to help preserve my hearing. When I got them and tried them out, the sound of the band was muffled and sounded terrible. I persevered using them, however, and got used to the dead, muffled sound.
Then one time I forgot to put them in my ears when we were playing. It was amazing how harsh, loud, brash and messy everything sounded!
So, It seems to me that my brain adjusted, and in the opposite direction from those using hearing aides. I would bet it is different for different people, but my brain made the adjustment to using the fancy ear plugs when playing drums (with cymbals crashing at arms reach, amps on stage, monitor wedges, and just loud stuff happening).

chas5131 - Posted - 12/10/2025:  11:14:28

Hearing aids vary. My Widex let me bang on my banjo or piano. My previous
one had to be removed before I did anything.
If the problems persist beyond three weeks, contact the supplier.