# Help - using a band equalizer



## RAJBCPA (Jul 31, 2021)

I'm 65 and have lost some hearing in the higher frequencies mostly over 8kh.

The doctor said to try band equalizers to compensate for the loss. 

The issue is using RCA cables for the band equalizer's inputs and outputs. Most of my music/videos are generated from devices such as dvd/blueray that don't have RCA jacks.

I think I can get around this using splitter boxes [1 hdmi input, 1hdmi output, 1 toslink out, 5 RCA out.

Will this work? If no, is there a software solution?


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## Wayne A. Pflughaupt (Apr 13, 2006)

If all this equipment is plugged directly into a TV, you have no options.

If you’re using an AVR, they typically have built-in EQ that could help.

Barring that, the only option for a hardware EQ solution is to connect them between the AVR and outboard amplifiers.

Regards,
Wayne


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## Da Wiz (May 8, 2019)

I recommend NOT using an EQ to try to compensate for hearing loss. Any range of sounds you INCREASE in volume will increase your rate of hearing loss over time. It's better to just let the sound over 8,000 Hz slip away. You aren't missing ANY notes from ANY instrument if you can hear 8,000 Hz. All you lose are harmonics. A cymbal will still sound like a cymbal when you remove everything above 8,000 Hz and you won't be doing something that increases your rate of hearing loss. If you drive a car with the windows open STOP DOING THAT IMMEDIATELY. The buffeting of your eardrums caused by the wind is among the largest excursions your ear drums will create of ANY sound. Those large excursions are what fatigues the fine nerves in your chochlea and causes them to lose the ability to respond to high frequencies over time. The more you can remove large excursions of your eardrum, the longer your hearing will last without further degredation. Obviously, riding a motorcycle without a helmet to stop the wind buffeting the eardrums is also a very bad idea. At the very least, use earplugs so the wind can't cause large excursions of your eardrums. Skydiving without ear plugs is a bad idea from a wind-buffeting point of view, but I have no idea if the use of ear plugs while skydiving is possible or not due to air pressure changes as you descend. But you get the idea... don't make sounds you can't hear louder to avoid further hearing loss. If you end up with hearing aids, use them carefully and at the lowest effective settings as possible to preserve as much of your hearing as possible over the next 30 years.


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## RAJBCPA (Jul 31, 2021)

Da Wiz "I recommend NOT using an EQ to try to compensate for hearing loss. Any range of sounds you INCREASE in volume will increase your rate of hearing loss over time."

Rob: Well, that is exactly what a hearing aid does for frequencies up to 8KH. According to my audiologist and my medical doctor, hearing aids do not further impair hearing over time.

The aids I tried for one week. worked well at letting me hear sounds below 8kh that were missing. Unfortunately. I need them to help reduce the ear ringing and they increase the ringing loudness . My audiologists says there haven't been any scientific studies to confirm a reduction in ear ringing over time. Really? I bet studies would, if made, would confirm that they do NOT work. That certainly helps doctors and audiologists to sell $7,000 hearing aids at huge profits.


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## Da Wiz (May 8, 2019)

Well, of course they will not tell you that using hearing aids can accelerate hearing loss. Why would they do that? There is no other solution they can offer. I was brought to this knowledge by a loudspeaker manufacturer who's been in business for 45 years. He chose hearing loss and hearing restoration as his charitable cause for that entire time. He has been involved with that since the 1970s and has campaigned endlessly for better techniques and education about hearing aids. Hearing aids are tools, but should always be used with the least amount of volume boosting as possible and for short periods of time in order to reduce any chance of the hearing aids causing further hearing loss. The more you need the hearing aid, the louder the EQ has to be for effectiveness... but the louder the hearing aid is set, the larger the chance of causing more hearing loss. You can choose to believe this or not... your belief is not required for this to be fact.
If you create the EQ in your audio system, every time you listen to anything at any significant volume level, you can be contributing to further hearing loss. So the more you need hearing aids, the faster they will further degrade your hearing just by using them. When you lose the ability to hear some range of sound, the ability of sound in that frequency range to further damage your hearing does not go away. Again, your belief is not required for this to be factual.


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## RAJBCPA (Jul 31, 2021)

I'll do some more research. I'm not sure about these guys. What turns me off is the = no long term studies to show a reduction of ringing. I suspect my loss of hearing higher frequencies is related to my age - 65. What does your friend say about hearing and aging?


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## Da Wiz (May 8, 2019)

It is normal to lose high frequencies as a person ages. Even people who were protective of their hearing (ear plugs or other ear protection used in loud environments and while exposed to wind while driving/riding will lose high frequencies as they get older. The high frequencies that are lost don't mean there's any cause for medical concern unless the hearing loss is affecting your hearing between 20 Hz and about 5,000 Hz. Ringing is not necessarily a part of hearing loss, but is a sign of tinnitus. Some forms of tinnitus can be treated to reduce or eliminate ringing, some cannot be treated. A doctor who specializes in hearing will be your best source of information, testing, and guidance on what can be done to help you.


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## grantb5 (Sep 23, 2009)

RAJBCPA said:


> I'll do some more research. I'm not sure about these guys. What turns me off is the = no long term studies to show a reduction of ringing. I suspect my loss of hearing higher frequencies is related to my age - 65. What does your friend say about hearing and aging?


I think the best you can hope for is masking the ringing. I don't think there's ever been any credible proof that you can reduce or eliminate ringing by throwing more sound at it.

Regarding the additional hearing loss issue, go back to the fundamentals. A certain dB of sound at a given frequency over a given time will cause hearing damage. Most hearing aids are set only for MCL (maximum comfort level) or how much volume you can tolerate before it makes you completely mad. You gotta do what you gotta do to get by, but balance your priorities of being able to converse in the coming years versus hifi listening fidelity.


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