liszt37
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Sam Tellig's "ears"
Buddha
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Dang!

I remember, but forget the name.

They were like leather ear "expanders" that you'd wear while listening.

You are right, if I can go find the name, I'll post it.

bifcake
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If it's a Sam Tellig recommendation, it's probably the ear muffs. The more he covers his ears, the better he hears. He probably needs to muffle the voices in his head resulting from years of living with his wife.

stereophillips
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Okay, I get that you have some issues with ST, but why the gratuitous swipe at his wife, who neither writes for Stereophile nor posts any opinions online. Seems like a cheap shot to me.

I've met her and she seems sweet to me. Have you met her or are you just using the Internet disconnect to say things you wouldn't have the guts to say face-to-face about another man's wife?

Say that to my face about my life-mate and you'd have to step outside.

Jan Vigne
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While your hearing might be failing, your long term memory is still fairly good. I have a pair of the extenders here somewhere. If I find them, I'll give you the name; that is, if they actually had one. But a name will not be of much assistance as this tweak was around for a short time only in the late 1980's. As far as I know it was only marketed at C.E.S. and sold to a few vendors who attended the demo. The shop were I was selling at the time brought back six pairs and gave then away as novelties. They were made of thin leather and snapped together to form an approximately 1" extension to your outer ear. The inside piece of the device was cut to slip over your ear and hold the device in place. To my knowledge this tweak has long since passed from production. You might be able to fashion a hand made device by using an earphone as your base.

The tweak devices certainly were not what you would want to wear in public. There are far better options for hearing loss if that's your requirement. If you wish to use this just for audio use, try placing an open double LP cover behind your head. As with the ear extenders, this is very irregular in its response curve and the brightness comes with a bit of hardness; one reason the extenders slipped into the less well known memorbilia of tweakdom.

Jan Vigne
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Quote:
He probably needs to muffle the voices in his head resulting from years of living with his wife.

Unfunny, sir.

bifcake
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Quote:
Okay, I get that you have some issues with ST, but why the gratuitous swipe at his wife, who neither writes for Stereophile nor posts any opinions online. Seems like a cheap shot to me.

I've met her and she seems sweet to me. Have you met her or are you just using the Internet disconnect to say things you wouldn't have the guts to say face-to-face about another man's wife?

Say that to my face about my life-mate and you'd have to step outside.

I have no issues with either ST nor his wife. I'm sure she's a lovely woman. Since ST writes so much about her in his columns, I perceive her more as a character than an actual person.

I actually enjoy reading ST's column. It's full of colorful characters and personalities. His wife being one of them.

Buddha
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I just can't find that name, now it's bugging me.

Anyway, you do raise an interesting point about audio by asking about that product!

The way I see it is...

If you listen to live music, even with diminished hearing, it will sound like live music sounds...to your ears.

Therefore, a stereo rig that accurately reproduces the sound of live music should also sound like live music...to your ears.

So, on that front, those devices would just serve to alter what your ear would hear from live or accurately reproduced sound. What you seem to really be seeking is a "hearing aid", so to speak.

Which leads us to what you have noticed, which is not trivial!

You have consciously noticed a decline in your hearing acuity. First up should be a visit to your ENT physician who can make sure your outer ear canals are normal. (Remember when JA thought he had gone deaf and it turned out to be wax?)

Then, if everything "looks" normal, your doctor can order up an audiology evaluation. They can test up to 16kHz, but you HAVE to let them know you are an audiophile and expect an extended frequency eval.

I don't mean to presume about your hearing, and I hope there is a simple solution!

liszt37
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To those of you who have tried to help I offer my appreciation. My hearing has in fact been evaluated in the past, and high frequency loss was indicated and seen as not really unusual for someone my age. I am now just past 70. My most recent internet research has led me to a product I intend to order at www.earglasses.com. It is inexpensive and appears to do just what I want for just under $10. If it is as beneficial as I hope, I will notify this forum so that others can have the option of trying it. Thanks again for your assistance.

johncongemi
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It's taken all of these years but I found my leather ears. The leather is engraved "Serious Listener." They got a little bent and I am trying to reshape them before I try them out.

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