Background

In 2023, I published the complete version of my original 2012 article describing how my ability to listen to and appreciate music had all but disappeared. I could hear the music through either earbuds on max volume or through my hearing aids but the music sounded terribly distorted. The article, titled The Sound of Music: Part 1, had been summarised in a paper published in 2017 by the Music Department at Leeds University and, as it turned out, had begun to attract attention from fellow sufferers around the world – now numbering fifteen. Each person who contacted me said two things: ‘I have the same problem,’ and ‘Have you found a cure?’

My answer to the second question was and still is no, but many of the senders discussed theories on the possible causes of the distortion, solutions they had tried, the impact on their lives, and so on. There was much of interest in their replies and I decided to summarise them in a follow-up article titled The Sound of Music: Part 2, also published in 2023. Since then, I have added the comments of newcomers and the posting is now quite long, almost 7,000 words.

Four days ago, a new member, John, began sending me emails. In the first, he said his music distortion problem started six years ago. In the second, he said he had found a solution based on coupling a DVD player in a TV via Bluetooth to a TV Connector unit and hence to his hearing aids. Although not perfect, he said that this setup had re-opened doors to musical enjoyment. I was intrigued and added his emails to Part 2 of my Sound of Music posting and informed the group. The early response from two members, David and Morris, has been swift and I am expecting other members to respond. Consequently, I have decided to place John’s original emails and the responses from David and Morris in this separate posting rather than continue to grow Part 2.

Here they are:

A Possible Breakthrough?

Update, 20 September 2024: yet another new member, John, has joined the group. You will find his opening email to me below. You will also find a follow-up email in which John describes how he has restored his pleasure in listening to music based on using a Phonak TV Connector to connect music played on his TV’s built-in DVD player to his Phonak Audéo hearing aids. Please read John’s contributions and email me with any comments you may have. Ben

20/09/2024, John wrote:

Dear Ben,

Although it is 6 years since you wrote about your jumbled hearing [Editor note: https://musicandhearingaids.org/2018/03/02/how-does-music-sound-to-me/] I have only just come across it. It is exactly what I am experiencing.   It started 7 years ago and has become progressively worse so that I can now not listen to any music at all and have stopped going to concerts or listening to anything on Spotify or CD, although I do find that listening to the piano on YouTube is better than anything else.  E.g. the link below.

I was wondering whether since that article you have come across any sort of cure for this ghastly problem.

With kind regards

John

Ben: I wrote back to John to let him know he wasn’t alone and that, so far, neither I nor any member of this group has found a cure, and inviting him into the group. I also followed up on his link to the YouTube video. Here’s my reply: I did enjoy Clare Hammond’s playing of Unsuk Chin’s Etude #5 – the YouTube link you suggested in your email – so thanks for that. I tried the next piece of Unsuk Chin’s music, Etude #6, played by Clare Hammond. Ferocious stuff, very avant-garde. Even in my whistling heyday, I would never have been able to whistle along with that piece. 🙂

John’s Breakthrough

Subsequently, two days later, John sent me this email:

22/09/2024, John Wrote

Dear Ben,

Thank you for your email.  I have some fantastic news. Since re-immersing myself in this whole problem thanks to your article and email, and thanks to a long discussion on Friday with a friend who is an IT expert, I have realised that the Phonak TV Connector (1733NY42K), joined to my hearing aids Phonak Audéo M50-312, (which I had been using to hear speech on TV and Videos, but hadn’t thought to try them on pure music DVDs) works almost perfectly on them.  I have just listened to Jeanne d’Arc, a Mozart piano Sonata, an Argerich DVD, and the beginning of the Carmelites, all easily listenable to.  It’s a revelation. I will still not be able to listen to music live, nor with my hearing aids on their own, but the TV Connector has solved it.  The audio quality varies from company to company. The best this morning was Jeanne d’Arc (a French recording with Marion Cotillard – Alpha 708), followed by the Arthaus Carmelites (100 001). Both close to 100%.   It doesn’t work as well on music direct from the TV (i.e. without a DVD) but even that is about 80% OK.  The Mozart I heard was Pogorelich on Deutsche Gramophone.  Also not bad. 

The Connector even works linked to my PC (Lenovo) on Spotify instead of on the TV. Also around 90%.

What more can I say, apart from very many thanks for everything and please inform all the others!

Yours ever

John

Ben: I am now wondering how I can emulate John’s success. Currently, I am not using Phonak’s Bluetooth-enabled Audéo hearing aids, nor does my TV have a built-in DVD player, nor do I have a Phonak TV Connector. Plus, I sold all my CDs several years ago! But John’s success is the first time I’ve ever received such a positive response and I am strongly motivated to check it out. Watch this space!

23/09/2024, David wrote:

Hello Ben,

Thank you for putting us onto John’s solution. My own hearing aids don’t appear to be compatible with the Phonak TV connector he mentions, though Perplexity suggests a possible alternative. I could hear Unsuk Chin’s Etude No 5 but not well enough to enjoy it. (Would I if I could though?)

Having found a few more pieces I can make sense of, I’ll just go on experimenting with YouTube. Eva Auner performing Bach’s Toccata and Fugue in D Minor on a kalimba, and Sound Tracker (a Gamelan composition by Manuk Anguci) are percussive pieces that work quite  well for me and, for its remarkable visual effects, I was pleased to  come across the  1975 Jean-Pierre Poselle TV production of Carl Orff’s  Carmina Burana which I last saw that long ago.

I’ll be interested to know your reactions if you try any of these.

Best wishes,

David

24/24/2024, John wrote:

Dear Ben,

I have to qualify my original euphoria.  The sound via the computer leaves more to be desired than I thought. The 80% was too optimistic.  The music is still recognisable, compared with the original unintelligible jumble or cacophony, but it is mainly somewhat out of tune.  It can be listened to, but not satisfactorily.  But I suppose beggars can’t be choosers….

The sound via the TV is still good, though it is not brilliant with all DVDs.  Excellent is still Joan of Arc.  Also Horowitz’s concert tour, Vengerov’s Sibelius master class, Pogorelich’s piano recital, etc.  Plenty to choose from.  I will also try Davids’s suggestions.

Yours ever,

John

PS A further point about the Converter is that when plugged into the TV it does not cut out the sound for other listeners, like the headphones do.

Ben: The next contributor is Morris. For completeness, I’ve included his earlier 23/05/2024 contribution. Some of his subsequent 24/09/2024 comments relate to his earlier contribution.

23/05/2024, Morris wrote:

Hi Ben.

I have read through the links you so helpfully provided.  I have found this very helpful.  It is comforting to discover that I am not alone.

My first realisation that I had a problem with what I also have termed musical distortion was a couple of years ago.  I should say that my taste in music has always been quite narrow.  As a teenager in the 1960s, attempting to teach myself to play guitar, which involved wearing out records by endlessly playing and working out how to copy riffs and solos, I developed a love of the blues, Chicago blues, and contemporary R&B. I have never been moved by classical music, I regret to say.  I have been in the habit, when driving alone, of listening to my preferred music on the car’s audio system and often singing along.  A feeling that something was wrong developed when I began to realise that I was often singing out of key.  This was very strange, because the music did not at that stage sound distorted.  I was confused by these experiences.  The cacophony phase developed last year and was preceded by a period when, although I was still able to hear distinct instruments playing together, the tone of the instruments began to sound weird and some of the higher notes seemed off-pitch.

As the problem has developed, I have at the same time been experiencing distortion in the sound of human speech.  Voices sound strangely strangulated and speech is harder to comprehend.

I have so far stuck with my NHS hearing aids and for the past 18 months have been using Phonak Naida M aids.  When the musical distortion developed to a worrying level, I initially wondered whether the aids were causing it, but experimenting without the aids proved otherwise.  If I sit at a piano without my aids and play single white keys from bottom to top, I can hear the sustained sound of each note through until the very top octave, but it is a weird sound and as I progress past middle C the notes sound increasingly off-pitch.  Once I reach the top octave, all I can hear is the percussive sound of the hammer hitting the string, but no sustained sound beyond that.  All chords sound cacophonous.  Putting my aids on the music setting through the smartphone app makes no difference whatsoever.

I am currently awaiting an appointment for a mid-term hearing assessment, having seen a hospital audiologist recently about another issue.  I explained the deterioration in my hearing and the musical distortion to her.  She did not comment about the musical distortion, but seemed puzzled and offered the mid-term reassessment.

Having stopped listening to recorded music as a result of this problem, I have more recently started listening occasionally when alone, in the no doubt vain hope that my brain might gradually find a way of unscrambling the cacophony.

Ending on what is, for me, a positive note (forgive the expression), I am pleased to say that I can still hear undistorted music in my mind from memory.  I have also found recently that if I hum or sing a melody to another person, I am told that I am doing so accurately, even though I cannot hear that myself.

I would be grateful if you would include me in your small group of fellow sufferers and feel free to share my experience.

Best wishes.

Morris

24/24/2024, Morris wrote:

Hi Ben.

I have read John’s contribution, needless to say with a great deal of interest.  The excitement was quickly followed by questions popping up in my mind.

The obvious questions that we will all be asking ourselves are why and how does this device make such a difference.  I don’t expect an answer from you.  The main problem is that we don’t understand how musical distortion occurs in the first place. Does it have the same cause for all sufferers?  What does the TV device do with the Bluetooth signal that my smartphone and MacBook do not?

For the past 10 years or so, I have used a T-coil, which I installed in our TV room, for listening to TV.  This continues to work extremely well, but it does nothing to assist with my musical distortion problem.  The annoying background music that seems to accompany almost every drama or entertainment programme these days is just a continuous, weird jumble of noise that frequently interferes with my comprehension of the speech.  I have looked at user reviews of the Phonak TV Connector on the Amazon website.  Although it clearly works well as a means of creating a direct connection between a TV and Phonak hearing aids, there are numerous grumbles about aspects of its functionality.  Balancing sound appears to be far more fiddly than with my loop.  There are complaints about the inability to connect the device to a stand-alone DVD/CD player, which I do not fully understand.  Having downloaded the manual from the Phonak website, it appears that the device can be connected to a TV or other audio output device via the supplied Toslink optical cable or 3.5 mm analog jack cable.  The latter would enable it to be connected to any CD or DVD player with a jack output, which tends to be standard.  Very importantly for me, I could connect it to an electric guitar amplifier.  

I am currently trying to quell my excitement.  John has clearly derived enormous benefits from this device and I am very tempted to buy one, even though I do not understand how and why it appears to solve this horrendous problem.  I do have compatible Phonak hearing aids.

Moving on, I had a full hearing assessment at my NHS audiology clinic last month.  This was earlier than would usually be the case, due to progressive deterioration in my hearing.  Annoyingly, I had also developed contact sensitivity to the silicone dome in my left ear, and now have hard molds in both ears.  I discussed my musical distortion problem with the audiologist, together with the fact that I now perceive a degree of distortion in vocal sounds.  The audiologist suggested adding compression to my hearing aid setup.  I knew that compression was sometimes used in the setup of aids.  I don’t fully understand how it helps.  My only previous experience with audio compression has been with compression effects pedals for electric guitars, which have been around for many years.  I am due for a review after two months to evaluate the new setup.  First impressions were that everything now sounds even more weird than it did before.  However, the reason I mention it here, is that the addition of compression has resulted in a slight improvement in my perception of music.  The first thing I did when I started driving home from the hospital was to plug in my music memory stick and listen to familiar tracks of all kinds.  Some were still awfully distorted, but some were remarkably improved from before.  The downside is that, so far, it appears to have had a detrimental effect on my speech comprehension.  It takes time for the brain to adjust to these changes, so I need to see how I get along with it over the next month or so.

I am very keen to hear feedback from others about these issues.

Kind regards.

Morris

24/09/2024, John wrote in response to Morris’s comments:

Ben, 

Most if this was over my head. But it occurs to me that I failed to mention that speech on TV with the Converter is more than perfect. But I should also mention that for everyday use I find my old Virto W90 in-ear aids better and more comfortable than the Audéo!

John

24/09/2024, I wrote to Morris:

You’re ahead of me on this one. I haven’t yet dug deeper into the workings of the Phonak TV Connector. Does it work as a go-between between any Bluetooth source and sink or is it exclusively for Phonak hearing aid receivers? Are there alternative TV Connectors made by other manufacturers? And, your question above – will it work with any stand-alone CD/DVD player equipped with a Bluetooth output? Also, will the TV Connector connect with non-Phonak hearing aids that can receive Bluetooth signals? In other words, do I have to go with Phonak’s connector and Phonak’s hearing aids or is there a wider set of choices?

I don’t know the answer to these questions. I need to start another dig!

25/09/2024, Morris wrote:

I’ve been having a quick look on the internet for information about some of your questions.  I came across this thread with some interesting comments: –

https://forum.hearingtracker.com/t/phonak-tv-connector-vs-generic-bluetooth-transmitter/58584

Of particular interest, I thought, was this from bigalsavista:-

“TV connector uses “AirStream” which is a wireless signal developed by Phonak. It’s a derivative of their Roger protocol. It’s not Bluetooth and actually overcomes many limitations of current generation Bluetooth audio streaming including latency, power consumption and multiple receiver point distribution.

Unbeknownst to many, Phonak develops wireless communications devices for security, telecommunications, television, defense contracts etc. and as such they have a lot of experience with this type of thing.

This arm of Phonak are also responsible for the development of their SWORD technology, allowing the one hearing aid chip to manage multiple 2.4 GHz inputs.”

Morris

In the Meantime, a Note of Caution

25/09/2024, John wrote:

Dear Ben

I am afraid I have run into a major problem.  I have spent most of the day listening to DVDs, and find that only 8 out of 22 sound OK. I can find no reason why some work and others don’t. They are much better than the former jumble. They are clearly recognisable and almost listenable to.  But only almost.  They sound wrong.  Slightly out of tune.  So I fear I am only at the beginning of a journey and not yet at the end of it as I had hoped.  I have written to Phonak and will see if they can contribute anything.  But I think it is getting too technical for me (as are some of the commentaries on your website!).  I will speak with my IT friend this week.

I attach a list of the good ones as well as of the others. I can send further details of them if anyone would like them.

I am sorry to have to disappoint you, Ben.

Yours ever

John

Footnote. Here is John’s Good and Not Good list.

Good

Vengerov Master class (The Masterclass Foundation)
Christmas Oratorio (Deutsche Grammophon)
Carmen (Decca)
Carmelites (Arthaus)
Lady Macbeth of Mtensk (Arthaus)
Idil Biret 75^th Anniversary (TBA)
Jeanne d’Arc (Medici)
Shanghai Symphony Orchestra (Accentus) with Vengerov
Leif Ove Andnes and the Norwegian Chamber Orchestra, EMI
Porgy and Bess, Warner Bros

Not Good

Brahms 1 and 3 (Unitel) Bernstein
Verdi Requiem (Accentus)
The Warsaw Recital (Accentus)   Barenboim
Horowitz Concert tour  (Sony)
Chopin Concertos (Accentus) Kissin
Ein Deutsches Requiem (Arthaus)
Beethoven Sonatas (Gramola) Paul Badura-Skoda
The Vienna Recital (Major) Yuja Wang
Amadeus Quartet:  Haydn/Mozart (ICA)
Grimaud (Heliodor) Mozart, Schumann
Leif Ove Andsnes:  Bach and Mozart (EMI)
Argerich: Verbier Festival 2007 (Medici)
Brandenburg Concertos (Euroarts)
Porgy and Bess (Warner)

28/10/2024, Morris wrote

Hello Ben.

Your email today has reminded me to write to you concerning John’s report of the benefits of the Phonak TV Connector.  I decided to buy one of these devices to see whether it was any better for me than my old telecoil loop system that I have installed at home.  I have compatible Phonak hearing aids.  Sadly, my experience was disappointing, in that it does nothing to improve my perception of music.  I connected it to my TV using the optical cable, to achieve the best quality signal, and gave it a good trial alongside my loop system.  I listened to different types of music on radio stations, pausing and rewinding to play the same pieces for comparison.  The sound on the Phonak device is very good.  For me, however, it is not as good as the sound on my loop system.  The musical distortion I experience is not diminished by either device.

I have kept the Phonak device, because it will have its uses.  It is very small and easy to connect to any modern, smart TV, and any device with an audio out connection via 3.5 mm jack or optical cable. 

I do not wish my comments to be perceived as critical of John’s contribution and I would recommend the Phonak device to anyone with compatible hearing aids who does not wish to go to the trouble of installing a loop.

Best wishes.

Morris

I sent Morris’s comments to John asking if he would like to respond and, if so, make his response public. Here is his response:

29/10/2024, John wrote

Dear Ben,

I am beginning to doubt my own experience with the connector, although the few DVDs that “worked” still do.  I listened to Shostakovich’s 5^th today and it was still in the 80-90% range, but by that I  mean that I could listen to it and enjoy it, even though it was obviously not the same as it was before this problem developed.  The bass tended to be too dominant, but as I know the piece so well, my brain may be filling in the gaps or compensating for the faults. 

It is still extraordinary that some DVDs work for me and others don’t.

I am glad Morris nonetheless has a use for the connector.  One thing is certain, and that is that it enables speech in TV films or DVDs to be as clear as a bell, when without it my hearing aids don’t do a very good job at all and I cannot normally manage without subtitles.

The most encouraging news is the Cadenza Project.  It seems to be the first attempt to try to tackle the problem seriously although, like Nancy, I don’t suppose I will live long enough to see it through.

I have not heard back from the Sonova connection but will let you know when I have.  No problem with passing all this on.

Regards

John 

Behind the Scenes: Sound Absorption in the Home

Behind, the scenes, David and I have had an exchange about the effects of sound absorption in the home. David often sends me a link to a piece of music he’s found which was enjoyable to him and suggests I try it. Sometimes our responses are the same; sometimes not, and we’ve speculated as to why. Here’s what happened.

David: Like me, you probably find that frequent hearing of a piece of music tends to blunt its enjoyment. The reason is apparently habituation: the decrease of neurons’ response to a repeated stimulus over time. So after playing it almost every day why am I still thrilled by the slow movement from Beethoven’s 4th Piano Concerto played on a Boesendorfer by Yeol Son in a north German church with a wonderful acoustic? I wonder if this would have the same effect on you.

Ben: I found and tried this performance. Yeol Sun is, without doubt, a talented player but Beethoven’s 4th piano concerto is a superb example of what I have lost. I didn’t recognise the first movement. The second movement, Andante con moto, was spoilt for me by the contrast in the volume required by the full orchestra versus the piano. I had to turn down the volume when the full orchestra was playing with the result that I could barely hear Yeol Sun when she played her solo parts. I tried adjusting the volume but that didn’t work. But the third movement, the Rondo – that was a different kettle of fish entirely! I recognised it instantly and was able to enjoy the interaction between soloist and orchestra. Yeol Sun was playing at a much louder volume and, unlike the second movement, there was no need for volume adjustment. So, yes, the third movement worked for me.

David: Does the explanation for our differing responses lie in differences in hearing impairment or differences in the equipment we use, or both?

Me: That’s an interesting question. When I compiled all the emails I had received to create The Sound of Music, Part 2 blog, I noted that, in some cases, the symptoms people described were not exactly in line with my symptoms. Some were very vague about their distortion experiences. Others could hear things I couldn’t, and vice versa. I never pursued the reasons or asked for elaborations but suspected they were caused by differences in the fundamental physiological causes of the distortion. But, yes, you are right – it could be differences in the equipment we use to listen to music or the acoustic properties of the venue if attending a live performance.

Several years ago, I visited the Institute of Sound and Vibration Research, ISVR, at Southampton University, UK – my alma mater. I was pursuing questions I had regarding improving the acoustic properties of my home both in terms of preventing external noise from entering the home, soundproofing (e.g. double-glazed windows), and, just as important, improving sound absorption inside the home to reduce background noise caused by sound reflection – carpets, not shiny wooden floors; fabric armchairs and settees, not leather; no full-length mirrors; sound absorbing paint on the walls (yes, it exists); that sort of thing. My conclusions were that we spend money on soundproofing but not on sound absorption.

(I subsequently put together a 2-part article on my findings about sound absorption. You can download a copy here.)

My point is that it’s not only differences in hearing impairment and sound equipment. It’s also the environment wherein we listen to music. Concert hall and theatre architects take acoustics into account when designing new buildings or improving old buildings but we barely consider internal acoustics when assessing a place to live or when carrying out internal cosmetic changes.

We downsized into a bungalow two years ago and the first thing my wife wanted was a new kitchen. One doesn’t argue with the person who puts nice food on my plate (!) so I agreed. When the new-kitchen boss man came to discuss what she wanted, I waited for the opportunity to ask the two questions I had – ” Will you be painting the cabinets with sound-absorbing paint and what is the sound absorption coefficient of the quartz worktop surface you are proposing to fit?” I should have taken a photograph of the expression on his face!

Back to my ISVR visit. While I was there, I discussed the music distortion problem with one of the professors. He was interested but declined to start a PhD level research project. ISVR does not research the workings of the ear.

My university research days are long over but I sense that the causes of music distortion would be a fascinating multi-disciplinary PhD research program. It’s not just about the workings of the ear and how the brain interprets the coded messages it receives. External factors such as the source and frequency characteristics of the sound, and the environment in which we receive the sound play a significant part.

Give me a neuroscientist, an acoustic specialist, an audiologist, a medical ENT specialist, an electronic sound reproduction engineer, even a speech therapist, and a pile of money and maybe I will return to my alma mater and suggest a new research project!

Ben

David:

I didn’t know you had investigated sound absorption in the home and written learned articles about it. Very impressive! I knew that people I can partly hear in pub gardens and rooms with soft furnishings I can hear not at all in brasseries and kitchens without carpets and curtains. The study I listen to music in does have some sound-reflective surfaces: two desks, cupboards, a wardrobe, walls painted with ordinary emulsion, and pictures (or don’t they count?). But it also has a fitted carpet, curtains, a bookcase full of books along one wall and a single bed covered with a duvet. Presumably, all these help to diffuse sounds. (In a rare howler, today’s Times talks of attempts in the UN to “diffuse” the situation in Lebanon.) I don’t know how our rooms’ acoustics compare but I’d be surprised if there’s enough difference between them to explain our different perceptions of the second and third movement of that Beethoven piano concerto.

(^_^)