A testimony of a music aficionado who owns over 70,000 albums & singles
By Robert LaCosta, Owner of Heart Ear Boutique
The following are the experiences of music expert Jim Quinn who has been wearing hearing aids for over 35 years. Patients may have their hearing evaluated by Quinn and be fit with trial hearing aids at Heart Ear Boutique in the Glenmont Plaza or at the Coxsackie, Ravena, or Greenville offices.
Question: What’s different about the new hearing aids?
Since I got new hearing aids, I pulled out a lot of old albums that I thought had poor production quality. It was my old aids that had the bad performance. The albums were fine. Previously, the different pitches sounded like they were lumped together. Now, I can hear the separation between the frequencies.
Question: What specifics can you give regarding the differences of the new technology?
I can hear the kick-drums, the snare, the acoustic guitar, and the lead guitar or in the case of my favorite song of all time, More Than A Feeling by the band Boston, I can hear the stacked vocal harmonies along with the lead vocal. It’s really the separation of sound. Instead of it sounding muddy or muffled, there’s an extra clarity and distinction. When I hear music, I listen as if I am a musician. Instead of concentrating on just the melody or vocals, I can now pick out a good bass line and things like a great guitar riff.
“These new hearing aids brought clarity in certain pitches I thought I had lost forever.”
Question: Do you believe you’ve recovered or re-discovered hearing that you thought was lost forever?
The exacting frequency responses of these new hearing aids relieved some anxiety because I was now hearing sounds that I thought were forever lost. The inner hair cells of my cochlea that I thought were gone were still receptive; they just needed the right technology to stimulate them.
Question: How have the new hearing aids helped with your daily life and responsibilities?
I am catching more in conversations. I’m not having to say, “What?” There is a clarity to voices as well. With the old aids, it was equivalent to putting your hands over your ears a little bit so it was like muffling the sound. With the new hearing aids, the earmuffs are off completely. I’m hearing the full range of sound.
For more information about Heart Ear Boutique please call (518) 435-1250 or visit their website at www.heartearboutique.com.