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Topic: Are they any truly DEAF steel players here on the SGF? |
Ray Montee
From:
Portland, Oregon (deceased)
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Posted 23 Oct 2014 7:32 pm |
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We've all heard the one or two TONE DEAF steel players in our lives........
however have any of you experienced the very real
dilemma of actually suffering a partial or total hearing loss?
Have any of the current high tech hearing aids worked for you? Are they really good or simply more frustrating to work with?
Those that have encountered ringing in the ears.....have ever overcome this condition? |
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Kekoa Blanchet
From:
Kaua'i
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Posted 23 Oct 2014 8:02 pm
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Hi Ray,
I've got one ear that's pretty much normal and the other one that's completely deaf. In the context of a band performance, the biggest drawback is that it's tough to differentiate one instrument from another -- the audio equivalent of not having depth perception in your eyesight. This is a real problem for a steel guitar player, since you rely on hearing yourself to get pitch and touch right. Not being able to clearly hear the steel guitar within the mix makes it impossible to do a good job on stage, so I needed to find a way around the problem.
Hearing aids are not the answer here, since one ear is normal (so a hearing aid isn't needed) and the other ear has no residual hearing at all (so a hearing aid can't help it). For somebody with a different hearing loss, though, I presume a hearing aid could be a great help.
On stage, I rely on a small monitor, pointed only at me, that amplifies only my steel guitar. I can adjust the volume of that monitor myself (don't need to rely on the sound guy) during the show, so I can clearly hear what I'm doing, regardless of how the steel is set within the mix, or how noisy the room is. Works for me. |
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Don Barnhardt
From:
North Carolina, USA
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Posted 24 Oct 2014 6:12 pm
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| My hearing has become pretty bad. Coupled with tinnitis it's really frustrating.I don't play with a band anymore but I have gone back to singing self accompanied on flattop which I enjoy pretty well (do the nursing home circuit). I have expensive hearing aids which I assume are good. They are worthless playing music. I still jam a good bit and can keep up pretty good on songs I know (quite a few) until some one jumps time; that can cause a problem. |
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Robert Allen
From:
Tennessee, USA
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Posted 25 Oct 2014 6:16 am
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| I have a moderate hearing loss at 8000 Hz. The doctor says both the hearing loss and the ringing in the ears will be with me forever. They wanted $5100 for each ear for hearing aids. With no insurance it might as well be $51 million. In the band I have trouble with understanding many words. No problem hearing the lap steel or other instruments yet. The audiologist told me I'd have difficulty understanding what women are saying, and then he added that this wasn't always a bad thing. |
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