Chlidonias
Well-known member
no problem, we're deaf in different ears so we'd just stand next to each other and whichever one of us hears a bird, that's the direction the call is coming from!
-
Welcome to BirdForum, the internet's largest birding community with thousands of members from all over the world. The forums are dedicated to wild birds, birding, binoculars and equipment and all that goes with it.
Please register for an account to take part in the discussions in the forum, post your pictures in the gallery and more.
Am I The Only Tone Deaf Birder? (1 Viewer)
- Thread starter Lawsyd
- Start date
Nightranger
Senior Moment
I was not aware that it was as severe as this at least, not for everyone, Peter. However, it is a good point that ageing hearing is not the same thing, as this is related to (honestly) baldness in the inner ear. OK, I am being slightly flippant but it is a reduction in the number of cirri in the ear and of course it proceeds at different rates and different intensities in each individual. I suffer from tinnitus in my left ear and this causes problems in directional hearing especially in picking out distant bird song from the background but I can still hear species such as groppers and long-tailed tits.
Thanks for this (& to others who have suggested getting a hearing aid). I must admit, that I have been loathe to think about getting a hearing aid but, as I have a major milestone birthday in a few weeks time, perhaps it is time to accept that I am getting older & that the body needs a bit of help.
the black fox
Well-known member
nope your definitely not alone i have serious high frequency loss of hearing ,got £5000 pounds worth of digital hearing aids that i hate wearing ,and there terrible in the wind anyway .i never hear a bird singing at all ,but it hasn't stopped me doing very well on the photography side of things ,i feel that the loss of hearing is compensated for by better eye sight and a general alertness to whats around you .look at my gallery on here for proof of it or on flickr :t::t:
oh and by the way when i was going through the audiology tests for the hearing aids ,the audiologist said don't worry about tinnitus your hearings that bad you can't hear it .
its also lots of fun having (alleged) conversations with women who have high pitched voices or men who talk quietly as i have to guess what there saying and make up my answers on the basis of that ,fun at times i can assure you ,also if theres ANY background noise at all forget it ,any conversation consists of me catching every fifth or sixth word ,fun again
oh and by the way when i was going through the audiology tests for the hearing aids ,the audiologist said don't worry about tinnitus your hearings that bad you can't hear it .
its also lots of fun having (alleged) conversations with women who have high pitched voices or men who talk quietly as i have to guess what there saying and make up my answers on the basis of that ,fun at times i can assure you ,also if theres ANY background noise at all forget it ,any conversation consists of me catching every fifth or sixth word ,fun again
Last edited:
and I thought it was just me!!
its also lots of fun having (alleged) conversations with women who have high pitched voices or men who talk quietly as i have to guess what there saying and make up my answers on the basis of that ,fun at times i can assure you ,also if theres ANY background noise at all forget it ,any conversation consists of me catching every fifth or sixth word ,fun again
That makes me feel much better, it is embarassing at times guessing what has been said, especially when you get it completely wrong! I was warned that a hearing aid would amplify everything including the background noise and not give a benefit by my consultant.
As for being somewhere where there is background noise I just switch off and day dream of birding!
Phil
its also lots of fun having (alleged) conversations with women who have high pitched voices or men who talk quietly as i have to guess what there saying and make up my answers on the basis of that ,fun at times i can assure you ,also if theres ANY background noise at all forget it ,any conversation consists of me catching every fifth or sixth word ,fun again
That makes me feel much better, it is embarassing at times guessing what has been said, especially when you get it completely wrong! I was warned that a hearing aid would amplify everything including the background noise and not give a benefit by my consultant.
As for being somewhere where there is background noise I just switch off and day dream of birding!
Phil
the black fox
Well-known member
phil i have worn mine as a matter of course when needed
i.e at conway rspb wearing hearing aids just amplifies the road traffic noise on the nearby A55 ,with no benefit to bird songs .
beside the sea either the waves crashing or the wind howling has the same effect as road noise ,no positive gain .
they work well in a quiet hide but you can see the birds without them anyway !!!
in a chatty type hide if worn i just want to wrap my tripod around the people chatting or munching there cheese and onion rolls and crisps .
at home watching t.v there not needed as i just turn the volume up to full blast ,it has the double effect of being able to hear t.v and drowning out the wife .
so don't waste your time and money invest it in a good lens and/or binoculars 3
33
i.e at conway rspb wearing hearing aids just amplifies the road traffic noise on the nearby A55 ,with no benefit to bird songs .
beside the sea either the waves crashing or the wind howling has the same effect as road noise ,no positive gain .
they work well in a quiet hide but you can see the birds without them anyway !!!
in a chatty type hide if worn i just want to wrap my tripod around the people chatting or munching there cheese and onion rolls and crisps .
at home watching t.v there not needed as i just turn the volume up to full blast ,it has the double effect of being able to hear t.v and drowning out the wife .
so don't waste your time and money invest it in a good lens and/or binoculars 3
33
Fozzybear
Ich bin ein Vogelbeobachter
My upper frequency hearing has been shot since I was a kid, probably due to lots of problems with my ears I had back then. I also have issues with discerning sounds in noisy environments. It's annoying as I've never been able to hear grasshoppers and crickets and only once have heard a Goldcrest, in really perfect calm conditions with my brother pointing out when it sang. Does mean I miss birds but I try not to let it bother me too much and instead think to myself that what I do see is pretty good going for a pretty poor birdwatcher with duff hearing. Hasn't stopped me from finding a lot of birds on my patch, you just have to accept these things happen and make the most of what you have.
If Beethoven could write music when he was deaf then I'm sure we can still find birds.
If Beethoven could write music when he was deaf then I'm sure we can still find birds.
angusmcoatup
Paul
There's an interesting letter in this months BB relating to this thread.
Wildmoreway
Well-known member
I am totally deaf in one ear and partially deaf in the other ear. I tend not to wear hearing aids. I have though found a couple of cheap (around £10) forward facing (with cord to earphone) aids on ebay that can be set to be sensitive enough to pick up the sounds of hoverflies in flight whilst not generating feedback. At less sensative settings they can also be used to locatate the source of birdsong. An advantage with these aids is that they use an AA battery.
Another thing I do when out and about is to use the video facility on my camera and the voice note facility on my blackberry to record souns in the areas that I have been and to play it back when I get home .. these recording have often revealed sounds of birds that I was unable to hear at the time I did the recording.
Another thing I do when out and about is to use the video facility on my camera and the voice note facility on my blackberry to record souns in the areas that I have been and to play it back when I get home .. these recording have often revealed sounds of birds that I was unable to hear at the time I did the recording.
Last edited:
DanC.Licks
AKA Daniel Bradley
I am a musician and have had very good hearing and am anything but tone deaf, BUT.... I am now a few days away from 68, and I am no longer able to hear above 6kHz in one ear and about 9kHz in the other. 16kHz used to be no problem. Then about 20 years ago I started to develop pretty bad tinnitus, and have since had a steady tone in the area of 12-14kHz playing in my ears day and night. Probably an occupational hazard. Anyway, it means that there are lots of high pitched birds that I simply can not here. But my wife still can, and although she has trouble in lower registers (she often can't hear what I say) she hears them, and I hear the other ones better, so we make a great team! "You hear that? What was it?"..."Hear what? I didn't hear anything." "There it is again!"...."Oh?"....||
) she hears them, and I hear the other ones better, so we make a great team! "You hear that? What was it?"..."Hear what? I didn't hear anything." "There it is again!"...."Oh?"....||
MJB
Well-known member
I am a musician and have had very good hearing and am anything but tone deaf, BUT.... I am now a few days away from 68, and I am no longer able to hear above 6kHz in one ear and about 9kHz in the other. 16kHz used to be no problem. Then about 20 years ago I started to develop pretty bad tinnitus, and have since had a steady tone in the area of 12-14kHz playing in my ears day and night. Probably an occupational hazard. Anyway, it means that there are lots of high pitched birds that I simply can not here. But my wife still can, and although she has trouble in lower registers (she often can't hear what I say
I've been birding with Daniel and I can vouch for the fact that Goldcrests are silent for him!
I'm of an age with him, and despite decades of working around jet aircraft, I'm fortunate that my hearing is still good - I put it down to my nerdish insistence on wearing ear defenders because I had read the evidence beforehand on how noise damages hearing.
I'm not a musician like Daniel, but I have excellent relative pitch perception, which has allowed me to remember quickly bird sounds in, for example, Australia, after a gap of seven years; Mistletoe Bird comes to mind. The downside is that any music played flat or sharp causes me discomfort, and sometimes, to quote Vincent Price (and in his voice), 'exquisite agony'.
MJB
PS My hearing has also allowed me to carry out bird surveys by sound as well as sight.
Last edited:
