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What Should I do Boys?


russ69

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Sorry to hear that Russ.  First step, seriously, is try cleaning our the ear, then a doctor etc.

 

Many old school receivers had a mono switch.  Me I'd continue with a stereo setup and simply shift your chair until you find the approach that works best.

 

Hopefully, our own Larry Clare will check in.  He has considerable experience with your situation, yet still listens in stereo.

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Why change anything, you will still get stereo even with one ear not working as well, not exactly the same unless you sit still in the perfect spot and not turn your head, walking around or moving the better ear will still pick up stereo.  I will bet your brain will still hear huge difference between stereo and mono ?

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I'd leave your system set up for stereo, but experiment with turning down the channel on the side of the good ear. 

 

I would think that you would still get more information out of a stereo playback than a mono, plus eliminating any mixing phase cancellation etc. (??) 

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Sorry that you have a problem.  We'll pray it gets better.  Do you not have some perception to allow localization?

 

I'd leave the LS in the corners where they work the best.  Perhaps think about stacking them in the best corner with the one on top inverted.  It would be a fun experiment until things improve.

 

WMcD

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I'd leave it the way it is also.  You might turn your good ear toward the center.  If you went to a concert, the band wouldn't all move to one side of the stage.  Sound will still come at you from all directions.  Hopefully this is a temporary adjustment.  If not, you will still be able to enjoy music.  Beethoven still loved and created music after his deafness.

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3 hours ago, dtel said:

Why change anything, you will still get stereo even with one ear not working as well, not exactly the same unless you sit still in the perfect spot and not turn your head, walking around or moving the better ear will still pick up stereo.  I will bet your brain will still hear huge difference between stereo and mono ?

I agree totally.  I mostly have hearing in only one ear, and would't dream of going to mono or doing anything else based on theories you or I haven't tested.

 

Diz Rotus said:

 

I'd leave it the way it is also.  You might turn your good ear toward the center.  If you went to a concert, the band wouldn't all move to one side of the stage.  Sound will still come at you from all directions.  Hopefully this is a temporary adjustment.  If not, you will still be able to enjoy music.  Beethoven still loved and created music after his deafness.

Right, sound comes from all directions.  You'll find that you constantly make small adjustments to your head position, from which the multiple directions the sound comes from will create the multiple inputs that our very complicated ear-brain system will re-create the stereo listening effect for you.  Don't fall for some poorly-based mythology that says you'll hear only from one side or that you have to switch to mono to adapt your hearing to your system.  Try it and see, and let us know.

 

Poor Beethoven -- he could never hear a note of music after he became totally deaf, after 5-10 years (around 1810 or later).  He had to listen to music in his mind's ear, i.e., in his imagination.  It was absolutely stunning that he could still hear and compose for instruments with purely that ability to imagine, and that includes what any brand new combination of instruments would sound like.  It was only in his late period, after 1820 that he had occasional lapses in correctly writing for instrumental and vocal combinations.  He still had an outstanding sense of individual and combined instrumental and vocal sound.

 

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Hearing loss could merit some deeper examination.  If the loss is across all frequencies or just some may make a difference in what is at the root cause of the problem.  You may be missing a treatment window to save some of your hearing, or you may have some permanent loss that is just now being sensed.  There are hearing aids tuned more for music and they're not inexpensive.  Be prepared to duplicate what you paid for some of your gear.  See an audiologist and make certain of the situation.  Could be an occult middle ear infection.  

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Thanx guys. The doctor says I have some wax build up. Trying to flush this out but no luck so far. I'll go back to the doc if it doesn't get better.  That ear had some high frequency loss already but I have adjusted as most of you guys have recommended. Currently the loss is more severe, I hope it's not permanent. 

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That's encouraging Russ.  let's hope wax buildup is the problem.  I once had a chronic buildup that took effort to reverse.  I found that hot showers, letting the hot water into my ears, helped.  After showering, I carefully used cotton swabs to absorb the softened wax. 

 

I now use at least 4 swabs (both ends) after each shower.  I also use them before inserting IEMs.  I've found the ones from Dollar Tree to be as effective as brand name swabs and much less expensive.  Of course, be extremely careful inserting anything into your ears.  You could do permanent damage.  I try to not go beyond the depth of my Klipsch S4s.  The hot water softens the build up enough to allow it to flow toward the opening when tilting my head where it can be wicked up by the swab.  The swab is used as a mop rather than a shovel.

 

I first noticed my own high frequency hearing degradation while sitting at a kitchen table reading.  My grandfather's pocket watch was sitting on the table in front of me.  I looked up from the book to check the time and looked to the right, but the watch was to my left. The faint ticking was not discernible in my left ear.  That was more than 35 years ago.

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  • 2 weeks later...

My doc cleaned out my ears once and I couldn't believe how much wax had collected over the years. I never experienced ear aches but occasionally, I'd get a short, sharp pain inside the ear so I should've paid more attention. The doc suggested that I use a syringe and squirt hot (tolerable) water in each ear canal followed by a mix of hot water and hydrogen peroxide and let it sit there for a minute or so. The peroxide will dissolve the wax  - it'll sound like someone poured coke in there. Once the fizzing subsides, rinse out the ear with a few squirts of hot water from the syringe and follow up with soap (I do this just before I shower). Be careful not to push soap too deep in the ear and rinse it all out as it will irritate the canal and cause more wax to be formed. If you have swimmer's ear or have trouble getting the water out you can pour ½ a cap of isopropyl alcohol in and it will 'float' the water to the top and any residual alcohol will evaporate. Of course, alcohol will irritate the canal as well so use this as a last resort. I hope its something simple and easily reversed...Good Luck.

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Well, things got interesting. I'm not one to share my personal health information on a public forum (mostly because it's boring) but you guys might have a little more sympathy for my situation than non-audiophiles, so here goes. I had a significant wax build up in one ear, so I went to the ENT doctor and the technician vacuumed out the wax and then the doc took a look around. Everything looked OK, he said. I gave it a couple of days before I wanted to accept my hearing loss but there was no change, I still have a significant loss. I'm going back to my regular doctor but I think the most likely cause is that my artificial heart valve threw a blood clot and took out my hearing while I was sleeping. It fits with other issues I'm having and my medical history. Pretty bummed. I'll thank you guys in advance because I know you'll post some wise words for me. Life is funny, you never know what's in store for you. 

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