Know of any earphones with independent volume control for each ear??

[Tricia (horsekayak)]

I have a little hearing left in my right ear,(bout 50% as of right now)  and have noticed that now when I listen to my iPod, i basically have to leave the right earphone unused.  I can either turn up the volum for the set VERY loud (unhealthy, and I dont do this actually) in order to hear sound in both ears, or just do as i have been doing, which is leave the right earplug unused.

Does anyone know of MP3 (iPod) type earphones that have independent volume controls for each ear?  I'm going to Google this of course, but was wondering if any other music lovers know of such things/brands that they could recommend.  I"d just like to set the volume slightly higher in the right ear than the left ear...i'm not a crazy rocker anymore, just a real music lover.

i know most of you will probably say dont even worry with trying to use the right ear for  hearing the iPod music, but for some music i really would like to be able to hear the "separation", etc. WITHOUT damaging what hearing i still have left

thanks for any suggestions


PS...i just googled and have at least found these...they produce stereo sound using only one earbud...so at least i can get something like stereo..am still looking so any suggestions are still very very welcome      http://www.scansound.com/single-stereo-earbud.htm

tricia (horsekayak)

[Pooter]

Tricia,

A quick google produced this:  http://www.amazon.com/Coby-CV320-Dual-Control-Stereo/dp/B00008Z1PF.

I can't vouch for how WELL it works, but it fits the parameters of seperate volume controls for each side.

Good luck!

Brian

[leapyrtwins]

Tricia -

shortly after my AN surgery left me SSD, I purchased a mono plug adapter and a single ear phone from my local Radio Shack. 

The mono plug basically takes the sound from my iPod that would go to each ear and converts it to a single source so that the one ear phone (actually an ear bud) lets me hear it in my "good" ear.

The cost of the mono plug and the single ear bud combined was less than $10.  It's nothing fancy, and I know others have mentioned different options here on the Forum, but this is definitely inexpensive and does the trick for me. 

While I do not have independent volume controls, with this solution there is no need for them. 

Jan

[anissa]

I think someone posted about a headset that combined the stereo sound in one ear bud.  I don't don't remember if this was the brand/site but this is similar if not the one:
http://www.scansound.com/single-stereo-earbud.htm

Let me see if I can find the original thread...
Here it is:  http://anausa.org/forum/index.php?topic=10647.0
and this one:  http://anausa.org/forum/index.php?topic=5987.0

[Pooter]

Jan and Anissa,

I took from the original post that she was NOT SSD but rather just dimnshed hearing on the AN side. She specifically asked for something with two sides for hearing music but different volume controls for the sides because she needs it louder in one side than the other. Both of your options are good for SSD people but don't fit the initial request I don't think.

Just wanted to point that out.

Regards,

Brian

[Tricia (horsekayak)]

Hey there all,

Thanks for suggestions, links to products and links to earlier posts that i had missed..i didnt even know what to call these things till i started reading....

am going to make a selection and order...will let you all know what i think...music is so important to me, this is really a great thing to find out about !!!

tricia (horsekayak)

[leapyrtwins]

Both of your options are good for SSD people but don't fit the initial request I don't think.

Brian -

I got the part about not being SSD.  However, if you eliminate the "semi-good" ear and just focus on the "good" ear, my suggestion would work just fine.

Why worry about sound to the less than perfect ear when you can just bypass it completely.

That was my thinking 

Jan

[CHD63]

..... not to be-labor the point, but an earphone in only one ear, even though both channels are pointing to it still is not stereo, is it?

Tricia, thanks for asking the question because I have the same situation.  However the 20% hearing remaining in my AN ear is poor quality because of spotty frequency ranges ...... and of course, the ever present tinnitus.  My hearing aid helps greatly with one on one conversation but is not much use for music (with much greater frequencies).  As a musician, this has been one of the most frustrating things for me.

Clarice

[Pooter]

Both of your options are good for SSD people but don't fit the initial request I don't think.

Brian -

I got the part about not being SSD.  However, if you eliminate the "semi-good" ear and just focus on the "good" ear, my suggestion would work just fine.

Why worry about sound to the less than perfect ear when you can just bypass it completely.

That was my thinking 

Jan

I'm with you, and I suspected that as your reasoning to begin with.  But, I thought she was trying to find something that she could use in both ears just seperate volume controls because of the hearing deficit on one side.  Your logic for using a mono plug that puts all of the sound on one side was sound (like the play on words? ) and definitely an option for most of us.

On a side note, I really hadn't felt the need to get a mono plug or anything until here recently.  I just used one ear bud in by iPod and everything sounded decent enough.  Then, recently I was listening to a song with a lot of instruments that I knew VERY well.  It just seemed "off".. couldn't put my finger on it.  Then, I listened to the same song with the other bud.  I got a different set of sounds for the background instruments.  It was then that I realized that I wasn't getting the full bore of music through the ear bud that I had.  So far, I've just been listening to music (when I do) via the speakers.  I'm sure at some point I'll get a mono plug or something so that I can listen with one ear bud and hear ALL of the music. 

TTFN,

Brian

[leapyrtwins]

..... not to be-labor the point, but an earphone in only one ear, even though both channels are pointing to it still is not stereo, is it?

Technically no; theoretically yes.  Because the stereo sounds ends up in one ear you do hear what you'd be missing if you only wore one ear plug - like Pooter just described.

Pooter -

I'm surprised it took you this long to notice a difference with one ear plug; as opposed to two    I purchased my iPod as a Mother's Day gift to myself a couple of weeks prior to my AN surgery - you see, I wasn't planning on being half-deaf.  But when it turned out I was, I hated the way my iPod sounded.  Music just wasn't the same    I read about the mono plug adaptor and the single ear bud on this Forum.  I forget who posted the information - it was more than 2 1/2 years ago - but he was a musician and thought the adaptor was great.  It's probably been the best $10 I've spent in recent history.

One of these days when I get some spare time, I'll have to search the Forum for his post and link it to this thread.

Jan

PS -  love the play on words; very clever 

[Pooter]

Jan,

Is either of these two what you meant?

http://anausa.org/forum/index.php?topic=3700.0
http://anausa.org/forum/index.php?topic=5987.0

I think I may have to get one of these unless a Rich Uncle decides to die and pay for me to have BAHA and I can hook it into my iPhone via Bluetooth so I can hear music wirelessly through the BAHA.   

TTFN,
Brian

[anissa]

A BAHA with bluetooth, now that would be clever!

[saralynn143]

Brian, one of the 1-BUD earbuds will be showing up in my stocking here in a couple of weeks. I'll let you know how I like it.

Like tricia, I am not SSD, but have diminished hearing in my left ear, only 15% or so, not enough to notice in most daily activities, but enough not to be able to use the phone on that ear and dual earbuds/headphones bug me.

Sara

[Pooter]

A BAHA with bluetooth, now that would be clever!

The BP100 has Bluetooth built in but I'm not sure of the application of that yet, but using the built-in Bluetooth with a cell phone isn't far-fetched. Talk about a Borg implant. . I'd be all over that being that I am a die-hard Trekkie.

Regards,
Brian

[leapyrtwins]

Cochlear also sells an iPod adapter for their BAHA devices.  I know for a fact that it works on the Divino and the BP100 - and although I'm not sure it works on the Intenso, I don't know why it wouldn't.

I tried the BP100 with an iPod attached @ the ANA Symposium (as did Lori - and probably others).  I thought the sound quality was amazing.  It's a lot more money than my mono plug adapter and my single ear phone, but I may just look into purchasing one some day.

Jan