For musicians, sound is more than just something you hear – it’s something you feel, interpret and express. If you’re a musician experiencing hearing loss, you may be wondering how hearing aids could affect your relationship with music.
At Musicians’ Hearing Services, we’ve spent over 25 years supporting the entertainment industry with high-quality hearing care, from custom-made hearing protection and In-Ear Monitors to diagnostic testing to the latest hearing aid technology.
This guide outlines what to expect from hearing aids as a musician, how they can be fine-tuned for musical listening, and the crucial role your audiologist plays in optimising your experience.
Sound quality
Your experience with the sound quality of music plays an important role in shaping our hearing aid recommendations.
If you are struggling to hear music clearly due to a hearing loss, then hearing aids can make a significant difference. Whereas, if you’re noticing changes in how you perceive pitch quality, and it doesn’t seem as strong as it used to be, we will ask specialised questions to better understand the nuances of your experience and guide you through the next steps of your journey.
A common concern among musicians is whether hearing aids distort music. The honest answer? Yes, but only if the hearing aid hasn’t been carefully programmed to optimise the sound quality for music.
Hearing aids are designed with speech in mind. Features that enhance speech clarity for conversation, can negatively impact the quality of music. To overcome this, it’s important to create dedicated settings that are tailored to your needs for you to use in musical spaces, without compromising your day-to-day conversation settings.
Tailored recommendations
There’s no one-size-fits-all solution when it comes to hearing aids for musicians.
Your audiologist will use the information gathered during your assessment to recommend a hearing aid that aligns with your lifestyle, musical endeavours, and audiological requirements.
Depending on your goals, they may suggest hearing aids with features such as:
- Adjustable feedback management
- A wide range of frequency channels
- App-based remote control to adjust settings in the moment
At Musicians’ Hearing Services, we offer hearing aids from all major UK manufacturers. As an independent practice, we’re not tied to any one brand. This means that we have access to the full range of hearing aids on the market, so you can be confident you’re getting the best solutions for your individual needs.
Curious about specific models? Explore the different hearing aids we work with in our Comparing the Best Hearing Aids of 2025 so far blog.
The role of your audiologist
Even the best hearing aid technology won’t deliver the results you need straight out of the box.
Your audiologist plays a key role in getting the best performance from your hearing aids. At your first appointment, they’ll use various measurements to find the most optimal settings for speech. However, fine-tuning for music can take some more time, especially because listening to music is a personal and subjective experience.
At your follow-up appointment, your audiologist will take into account your initial impressions of how music sounds through the hearing aids. Based on your feedback, they’ll carefully consider adjustments to further improve the quality of music.
While there is much overlap in the terminology of the musical and audiological worlds, describing how something sounds isn’t always easy. So, rest assured our experience holds us in the best position to facilitate the translation of your experience into meaningful hearing aid adjustments.
Working with an audiologist who understands both hearing technology and musical nuance makes a significant difference. Our audiologists have extensive experience from working with musicians over the years and you’ll find that several of them are musicians themselves. They understand firsthand how important it is to preserve the richness and detail of sound.
Our admin team will help match you with the audiologist best suited to your needs and arrange your appointment accordingly.
Want to learn more?
Matthew Allsop is a Partner at Harley Street Hearing and Musicians’ Hearing Services, as well as the global Video Content Manager at Hearing Tracker, sharing his honest, independent opinion on all new hearing technology. Hearing Tracker is the world’s first truly independent resource for hearing aid consumers. Check out his channel here to learn more.
To see Matthew’s review of the best hearing aid setting for music, click below:
Contact us
Here at Harley Street Hearing and Musicians’ Hearing Services, we have developed a series of steps to get the most out of your hearing aids for music, while still maintaining the best quality for speech. To book an assessment, contact us or call 020 7486 1053.
Enjoy this article? You might be interested in some of our others:
