I emailed Stéphane from mynoise.net who has created some fantastic sounds for various situations and some in my experience can be great for masking tinnitus either completely or partially. I asked him if he would be interested in working with a hearing aid company to get some of these sounds built in to the hearing aid for better masking (instead of just white noise). He said he was open to it but the hearing aid company would need to contact him as it probably wouldn't work the other way around. Anyone know of a hearing aid company that quite a few of us could email that would be open to this idea? Do you all think this is a good idea?
Emailed the Audio Engineer/Creator of MyNoise.Net with a Suggestion But Need Others' Help
- Thread starter JasonP
- Start date
MemberI have listened to @Steve's neuromodulation and other audio therapy tracks for hundreds of hours. I recommend asking Steve to do this. He's also an admin here so part of this website community.
Widex is the first that comes to my mind, as they already use fractal tones for tinnitus treatment in their Zen Therapy hearing aids. They are also one of the best known hearing aid companies and have a solid reputation.
I think it's a very good idea. Dr. Stephane Pigeon is brilliant. It would be an ideal collaboration. In addition, Dr. Pigeon is in Belgium and Widex is in Denmark. Time zone is the same, I believe, which makes things easier.
I think it's a very good idea. Dr. Stephane Pigeon is brilliant. It would be an ideal collaboration. In addition, Dr. Pigeon is in Belgium and Widex is in Denmark. Time zone is the same, I believe, which makes things easier.
Why would you want to outsource this work to someone not part of this community when @Steve has produced a lot of excellent audio here already available to all of us? Let's show some respect to the man.
If Steve has the expertise for it, then by all means I would support him. But I have to ask, are you familiar with Stephane Pigeon and his credentials in audio engineering? Also, please see the extensive list of his publications.
It's more than creating audio; it's incorporating it into sophisticated sound delivery devices that also function as hearing aids.
- Apr 18, 2013
- 1,633
- Tinnitus Since
- 2003
- Cause of Tinnitus
- Flu, Noise-induced, Jaw trauma
The incorporation into a hearing device isn't at all my thing but the audio is.
As it happens I talked to a sound designer from Widex at the TRI conference. The hearing aids are effectively a small synthesiser, they don't play recorded sound, limited to simple waveforms. I pointed them towards some of my things as an idea - they said they only seek to distract rather than RI or masking.
One limitation is that in theory the hearing aids can play tones just over 10kHz but their sound drops sharply off at 8kHz. Anything with complexity to it and the harmonics, which give the richness of the sound, get lost. This is why the zen tones are in the sound range they have them.
As it happens I talked to a sound designer from Widex at the TRI conference. The hearing aids are effectively a small synthesiser, they don't play recorded sound, limited to simple waveforms. I pointed them towards some of my things as an idea - they said they only seek to distract rather than RI or masking.
One limitation is that in theory the hearing aids can play tones just over 10kHz but their sound drops sharply off at 8kHz. Anything with complexity to it and the harmonics, which give the richness of the sound, get lost. This is why the zen tones are in the sound range they have them.
Steve, is it possible the other hearing aid manufacturers could put in their hearing aid chip or chips some flash memory that could store sound files? Also, from what I found, there is 12 khz bandwidth on the Siemens (now Signia) Primax hearing aids coming out. Are the hearing aid companies serious about doing something more for tinnitus?
- Apr 18, 2013
- 1,633
- Tinnitus Since
- 2003
- Cause of Tinnitus
- Flu, Noise-induced, Jaw trauma
I'm not sure how much that would add to the size of the unit. Also for me there would be questions over the sonic capability of a unit this small; would it be capable of transmitting in high quality audio, what loss of quality will there be in using a hearing aid device? If you have an in-ear device versus high quality headphones there is a world of difference in the soundstage - hearing aid units are possibly only useful for delivering quite simple audio therapy.
You can wirelessly transmit audio from a mobile device, although the power consumption will be very high so may only be a viable option with an additional unit attached.
I'm no expert in hearing aids so would need to defer to someone from the manufacturer. I'm happy to make contact with one to ask the questions, I'm sure they would be more than happy to respond.
Thanks for the explanation. I'm glad you had a conversation with them, because you never know where it may lead.
I hear fine, although I can't hear tones above 15Hz and I'm sure there's probably some in-between loss further down the scale that's causing my cycling tinnitus with its myriad of sounds. I guess there's not much point in me seeking out hearing aids to help me with this.
ACRN has changed my longstanding tinnitus frequency from 6180 to 6514, or maybe it's a coincidence. Do you know if that's typical for the frequency to go higher instead of lower?
That would be great if you could contact them if you know the people on the inside! Maybe if I knew the engineers that designed these I could find out more about how they work and what their possibilities are. I'm not expecting frequencies up to 20khz or sound like start of the art headphones but it would be pretty cool if we could simulate the sound of a faucet running or a waterfall.
- Apr 18, 2013
- 1,633
- Tinnitus Since
- 2003
- Cause of Tinnitus
- Flu, Noise-induced, Jaw trauma
It is expected to change but there is also probably a natural fluctuation in our tinnitus that we don't pick up on unless we are always monitoring it.
I'll search through my notes and see if I have the contact details for the Widex guys at the conference.
Thanks. I've been monitoring it monthly for over a year and it's always remained in the 6100 range. Only since the ACRN has it changed to a higher frequency. I've been following your advice and only listening for one-hour intervals.
On a side note, you recommended open back headphones, but I've been searching online and can't find any that are bluetooth compatible. I'd like something that I can walk around in, like if I'm doing yardwork or just moving from one workspace to another. Is there anything like that, or am I relegated to bluetooth earbuds?
- Apr 18, 2013
- 1,633
- Tinnitus Since
- 2003
- Cause of Tinnitus
- Flu, Noise-induced, Jaw trauma
I'm not sure about any open backed bluetooth, I'm a cable person
. A lot of audio is down to the listener too, I just can't stand the blocking of my ears so I can't use earbuds or closed back headphones - only since tinnitus. There are quality closed back headphones but I don't personally feel they are as good, it is all a matter of opinion though. If you're using them outside then open back aren't great as you hear all of your surroundings and it makes you want to turn the volume up to compensate.
That's my problem, too. Last year I had to rebuild a lot of my fence due to a tremendous windstorm and needed to wear earmuffs the entire time because of the power drill. It was extremely difficult to have my tinnitus "captured" that way, as it really amplified the sound.
Outside it's fairly quiet in the country, unless the local dogs begin barking or my lawn-obsessed neighbor begins mowing and weedeating.
Thanks for the info about bluetooth vs. cable. I suppose cable allows for greater audio reproduction, but was hoping there was something that wouldn't block my ears completely and yet still provide some protection against external noise. Looks like I'll have to get bluetooth earbuds or headphones and be careful with the volume.
Log in or register to get the full forum benefits!
Similar threads
