This discussion of hearing issues turned out to be very timely for me.
Yesterday, when I was listening to my first varied thrush song of the
“false spring,” I noticed pauses between some notes that were much longer
than they should have been. Out of curiosity I went and listened to some
Macaulay varied thrush recordings – lo and behold, I could barely hear some
of the high notes on these.
This has been a long time coming: I have a family history of early hearing
loss, and – yes – I played in a rock band for a while. Then there was the
time I tried (with a total lapse in judgement) to photograph lightning
during the Arizona monsoon season: as I was getting out of my truck,
lightning struck the other end of the turnout. Since then, there’s been a
little rattling noise in my left ear. A little over 10 years ago (in my
mid-50s), I noticed people were hearing some bird calls/songs – generally
higher-pitched, sibilant ones – that I could not. Others I could still
hear, but they sounded thin, like old LP warbler recordings. I’ve become
somewhat dependent on others to find the birds I can no longer hear.
My non-Rx hearing devices are pretty good for the muddled consonants in
conversation, but their benefit for birding has been modest. The
SongFinder sounds really cool, despite the cost, and I might investigate
it. However, I may not have pure high frequency hearing loss.
One thing I’ve noticed lately is that I am often the first person in a
group to hear owl calls. This is true for both great-horned owls and the
(higher pitched) small owls. I wonder if maybe my brain has become more
attuned to cadences or patterns of sound now that it is no longer getting
all the detail.
On Tue, Jan 23, 2018 at 4:36 PM, LyndaLes <lcolburn2@xxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
Over the past 12 years or so while birding the Portland area I ran across
a gentleman birder who was using a hearing devise called “The Song Finder”
it lowers the higher frequencies of bird songs to a range lower so they can
be heard by those of us who can no longer hears the higher songs or parts.
It was really remarkable as he let me put it on and listen. I do not own
one myself. I am not sure about any drawbacks or pluses or minuses of using
the devise. There is a website under “The Song Finder”. It’s quite
expensive, though that is relative. Hope this helps.
Sent from my iPhone
On Jan 23, 2018, at 12:23 PM, Robert O'Brien <baro@xxxxxxx> wrote:
Seems like I've heard about some type of (nonstandard?) type
of hearing aid specifically for birds. Anyone know about this?
Bob OBrien
On Tue, Jan 23, 2018 at 11:54 AM, Bill Tice <ticebill7@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:
Regarding hearing bird songs: I did listen to some loud music when I
was younger, and I suspect it affected my hearing now that I am in my early
‘60s. My left ear is about 60% and my right ear is probably around
’90%. But what is strange is that I can hear GC Kinglets just fine. It
is more the mid range songs that are more difficult to detect. I also
have quite selective hearing when talking to my wife, especially when it
involves doing chores or something I am not much interested in. As
would also seem to be the case, my directional hearing is shot, which seems
to usually be the first sign of realizing when you know your hearing is
compromised. This is when I appreciate my wife being with me when
birding, that way I can ask her what direction the bird is. I really
listen to her then……….If she is not with me when birding, I need to turn
around in a circle until the call is the loudest to my right ear, then hope
I can locate it visually. Ah, the joys of birding while aging……I do
have hearing aids, but find that I don’t use them as often as I should. In
the winter I use them less because I am often wearing a hood or pull over
woolen cap and so the hearing aids are of no use then, but in the warmer
weather when I don’t use hoods, they are actually helpful. They take
some getting used to.
--
Bill Tice
:
"If you don't know where you're going, any road will get you there."
George Harrison
