[obol] Hearing them little birdies

[Kevin Smith]

Dear Hard of hearing them little birdies.

I too have a hearing loss (from childhood) and can't hear 90% of birds, 
even up close.  I have a pair of (expensive) hearing aids sitting on my 
dresser here at home.  They magnify EVERYTHING and make it very hard to 
distinguish small sounds and do NOT help anything above about 5000 
cycles.  If you really want to hear the birds whose songs go up to 
10,000 or more you should try a product called "The Songfinder" at
www.hearbirdsagain.com
It is the best $$$ I have ever spent on birding gear.  I have had my 
hearing tested by conventional 'hearing doctors' and they promise that 
by buying THEIR product I can hear birds again, BUT if you check you 
will find that even the most expensive hearing aids do NOT do much for 
high frequencies.  The Songfinder's range cover up to 40,000 cycles (I 
can even hear BATS!).  What it does is splits the frequencies above 3500 
cycles by 2, 3, 4, or more and drops the high frequencies into a range 
which you can hear.  It does nothing for frequencies below 3500 cycles. 
 I can now hear White-crowned Sparrows, Cedar Waxwings and others whose 
songs and chirps are wayyyy out of my normal range.  The unit is a 
little cumbersome and sometimes gets in the way, but well worth the 
price which is MUCH lower than hearing aids.  It is fully ajustable so 
if your ears are not the same you can compensate.  It is a stereo unit 
so it allows you to zone in on the bird.

Have I said enough??  I really CAN'T say enough.  I am now having to 
LEARN what all the birds sound like (Birding by ear classes are a MUST). 
 Try it out.  You'll LOVE IT !!

Kevin Smith

-- 
Kevin Smith
Crooked River Ranch, Oregon