I used digital hearing aids that cut off at 130db. For my hearing in those days any sound needed to be boosted to about 90db-110 db for me to hear it in certain ranges. Other lower sounds were natural I could hear like a hearing. But I needed hearing aids for trucking medical passing DOT Requirements.
My audiologist knew that I was a trucker and sometimes in mountain work with the engine at redline and the jacobs brake going inside the old steel cabs on bad pavement it can be VERY noisy sometimes for all night never ending. So the hearing aids cut off automatically when the sound levels get to where it's physically a painful experience.
Another benefit in those days was we used to visit NSSA in Winchester VA once a year. They used live fire Civil War artillery at Fort Shenandoah and it IS VERY LOUD. You had your hearing aids OFF and you feel that THUMP in your body as the rounds go downrange. After a day of hat it gets tire some and some of the hearing without any protection end up bleeding.
Today I am less concerned with DB, the recent hearing test showed a age related progressing towards 120db and beyond for progressing into profound deaf. I still have a range of sounds I can still use with hearing aids. But if I lose that too which is a possibility, there will be no point in using the hearing aids anymore. Which is ok.
The one thing I always say to anyone is to get hearing aids fitting to their hearing by a audiologist. Just buying cheap 25 dollar sound boosting hearing aid like devices are not fitted prescription hearing aids for anyone. The boost provided by them can be way too much and damage hearing.
Hi, X1heavy
My name is Craig and I have finally found a good solution for myself,
about being in the world with only one ear.
A while back, I ordered two, "BONE CONDUCTION WIRELESS HEADPHONES", one an IDONN F1, $47, and the other an AFTERSHOKZ AIR, $100. and paired the AIR up with my Samsung 7 phone, and the F1 I paired up with my Kindle Fire. I ware both of them in front of my only ear, and I can "adjust" them and get the volume and "fidelity" I want for each situation I'm in. My ear canal is open... and I can drive, I can hear the engine and gears, speak on the phone, listen to my music, and still "hear" any sound coming into my left ear, all at the same time, but before, every sound that came into my ear canal was
quickly rejected by my brain which yelled at me, "TOO MUCH INPUT".
It has allowed me to be hands free all day, and feel more confident in my ability to "listen" and then to communicate better.
For me, Volume is the issue, everything is loud in my left ear, and very confusing.
An experiment I ran on myself was, to insert a foam ear plug, all the way in, and give it 25 seconds to fully expand, and as it closed off my ear canal, I could hear 95 % of all sound, go away.
These are the sounds that went away, in order.
1st, the old electric fan motor sound,
2nd, the sound of the Tread Mill motor I was walking on,
3rd, the sounds coming from the T.V. on medium volume,
4th, was the Radio,
5th, was a CD recording of a female voice singing.
Very interesting video,...
(m.youtube.com/watch?v=1PNnBRBfOVY)
Another "experiment" I did was put my plug in, and as it expanded , listen to my family in conversation, the low male voices went away, the kids voices went away, and the higher female voices were low,
but I could hear and understand them.
It was strange seeing my family speak to each other, but only hear the female voices.
Other than my feet walking on the tread mill, and the female singing voice, all sound was gone, actually quite soothing.
Same thing in my vehicle, all sound gone, for the most part, except what ever is programed into my music list for the day. Lose fitting, the plug in my ear helps with loud, concussive noises that make me freeze and I jump out of my boots.
I would like to speak more about , "only having one ear".
I would give up half the hearing in my good left ear, to have even a "tiny" bit of hearing in my right.
"Ears" are like Brother and Sister to the brain, they are constantly triangulating sounds and objects, like the eyes, and without one of them, we're only "half smart", in a way.
You really do need Two Ears AND Two Eyes when you are in the woods and world, lose any one of them and, otherwise, "You're BAIT". By experimenting with different technology, we can, "not feel like bait".
Fellow smallTrucker
Craig "Munch"
my daughter was talking about her sisters eagle? Minutes later it dawned on me it was vehicle, I knew she didn't have an eagle, years ago when it was not such a problem it was funny, well the funny had worn off
