The Sweetness of Heard Melodies (and Harmonies)

This morning, I left Elite Hearing Centers with two new devices: a high-end hearing aid for my left ear, and a CROS transmitter for my right.

As I pulled out of the parking lot, Ray Charles's "America the Beautiful" started up on Spotify and, as if on cue, I started sobbing like a kid hearing music for the first time. The harmonies, which are normally a single blur, were clear and distinct. I noticed instruments I hadn't realized were there before. And most important, the music had a warmth to it that it had never had before. Do normal people hear music like this? I sure hope so. It is heavenly.

For someone who’s been mostly deaf since childhood, these new devices aren’t just technology—they’re a door opening up to a rich musical world (and I thought my musical world was already pretty rich)!

How do you describe the moment you hear a favorite song as if it’s brand new? Here is a bit about my hearing-aid journey.

From One Ear to Two

I’ve worn a hearing aid since 1999. Back then, with a tight budget, I got a basic model for my “good” ear (the one with moderate-to-severe hearing loss, unlike my “bad” ear, which no hearing aid could help). It was life-changing—I cried for days, overwhelmed by sounds I’d missed for years. Once, hiking with friends, I marveled at the “silent” woods during a snack break, only to learn (after popping my hearing aid back in) that a noisy bird fight was raging nearby. My friends thought I was nuts!

In 2006, after accidentally crushing that hearing aid while working at a bookstore , I eventually upgraded. Better sound, more tears! In 2014, a new mid-range model brought even clearer audio ... and yes, I cried again. But my 2014 hearing aid started slipping out a few months ago, and after it took a muddy bath in my yard during a rainy week, it became unreliable. Time for a change.

CROS and Music Mode

At Elite Hearing Centers a few weeks ago, I discovered how far hearing-aid technology has come. And this time, I could get not one, but two high-end devices. I picked them up this morning: A hearing aid (with a dedicated music setting!) for my left ear, and, for my right ear, a CROS device, which looks like a hearing aid but beams sound from my deaf side to my good ear. Now, I'll be able to hear my passenger while driving—no more shouting matches in the car! But the real magic happened as I left the hearing aid place and turned on the music. It was so clear and beautiful. I just wanted to stay in my car and listen to music all day.

What’s Next?

I'm itching to get home and test my new hearing at the piano. I know this will help my ear training. Will it help my piano playing as well? We'll see, and I'll share it here first!

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