Best MD for use by a someone with a hearing loss

5akman

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Chico CA/Kenai AK
Too many years as a high school woodshop teacher has finally taken its toll on my hearing. While I can carry on a conversation just fine or watch tv with the volume just a bit louder than most, I have trouble hearing with any kind of background noise and certain tones are just about silent. I've been messing around with my dads old Garrett GTA 350 which I like because its silent until it finds something. He'd like his detector back and I'd like to upgrade to a new/newer machine but need advice on what machines to look at that don't have the constant tone. 90% of my use would be parks/school yards and the other 10% at the coastal campgrounds/beaches.

With this use in mind and the hearing loss, what would be some detectors to look at in the $250-500.00 range?

Thanks!
 
Lots of good options out there as far as detectors. By constant tone I assume you mean threshold?.You want a silent-search?....
I would look into a REALLY good pair of headphones as well. I have some hearing problems according to my wife!?;) I got a pair of "Sunray Pro-Gold" headphones and they really help me hear the signals. And keep out the wind/background-noise etc...Nice,tight comfortable fit too... I cant even hardly hear My garrett pro-pointer through them. And its pretty loud...
 
Have you ever had your hearing tested so that you know what frequencies you can hear best? If not, here is a test so you can check real quick. Make note of tones you can and can't hear. Then we can figure out some detector and headphone combinations that might work best for you.

http://www.hearingfrequencytest.com/

Not sure of the frequency of a table saw but you probably want to steer clear of that range...:D
 
Yes, I was asking as to a detector that has no sound until it finds something. I tried a buddy's detector that had a constant "hum" and then a bit of a varied tone when it detected something. My dad also had a unit a few years ago that had the background noise and then lots of chirps etc, drove me crazy! I had a hard time noticing the slight difference and feel that I missed a lot of what the machine found due to not being able to hear the change in tone. I'm thinking that something that runs silent until it detects is easier to hear.

I was thinking that the threshold was not only a "sound" setting but also effects the operation of the detector correct? In otherwords, if I had the threshold set to where the noise was gone, would I not then be potentially missing some of the targets?
 
Diggler,
Thanks for the link to the hearing test, I'll try that tonight and just for grins see if I can find the results of my last hearing test at the doc's office to see if I've lost anymore hearing in the last two years. My wife certainly claims this to be the case!
 
I am also a deaf md'er with hearing difficulties.I use a tesoro cibola with a tone search to show me my finds maybe this will help you with your search. Seeing there are different kinds of deafness its hard to say what you will need. As far as headphones its hard to say because i would like a set myself but I wear hearing aids. Have your hearing checked by a professionall dr. Only then will you know.
 
Or if you are really hard of hearing there is always this option:

The Vibra-Phone 280 lets you replace sound with Vibration.

* Don't like wearing headphones?
* Difficult to hear tones and whistles?
* Need to hear ambient sounds?

Then the Vibra-Phone 280 is for you!

The Vibra-Phone 280 takes the tone that you would normally hear in your detectors headphones and converts it into vibrations. It works with most common metal detectors with a 1/4" headphone jack. No modifications or special tools are needed.

Just simply clip the Vibra-Phone 280 to your metal detector and plug it into the headphone jack in place of your normal headphones. Turn the Vibra-Phone 280 on and you're ready to go!! Made in the USA.

Note:
Vibra-Phone works with most all common detector models except Minelab and Fisher.



Vibra-Phone 280 - $79.95
 

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I just took the test via the speakers connected to my computer and found that I can hear the frequencies from 200-12000 and nothing above or below those levels. With that data in mind, are there any recommendations on detectors and/or headphones?

Thanks

Lance
 
Well do you want a display or not? Tesoro makes a lot of silent search discrimination detectors but only 2 with a display. Only one of those has ground balance, which you will need if hitting the beach. The "threshold" sound that you are trying to avoid is adjustable on a lot of machines. The Minelabe Xterra 305 has adjustable threshold, adjustable ground balance, a large number readout and is about $400. It can be set to 1,2,4 or multi-tone. Then you would NEED to spend about $100 on some nice headphones, either Killer B's or Gray Ghost or the like. Some have adjustable volume per each ear and REALLY pump up the volume. I guess as long as you get some good headphones you should be able to hear on about any detector. Since you will be hitting the beach occasionally that narrows down choices too. So I guess the question is: "Display or no display?".

Some to consider:

New Garrett AT Pro - yet to be proven but sounds pretty positive so far
Minlelabe 305 or 505
Minelab Sovereign GT - used (no display)
Tesoro Vaquero (no display)
Whites MXT - used

http://metaldetectorreviews.net/
 
Diggler,
Regarding the display. Are you saying that I'd watch for the visual "hit" on the display as opposed to listening for a tone or I'd hear a tone first and then confirm via the display?
 
Diggler,
Regarding the display. Are you saying that I'd watch for the visual "hit" on the display as opposed to listening for a tone or I'd hear a tone first and then confirm via the display?

Almost all hunters listen for the tone first and then use the display to verify. In Multi tone the xterra has 99 tones so you can get pretty good at predicting the target just by the sound. Lots of people use the visual display too much and pass up good targets. Some machines don't even have a display and it is all based on sound. Different strokes...
 
I just took the test via the speakers connected to my computer and found that I can hear the frequencies from 200-12000 and nothing above or below those levels. With that data in mind, are there any recommendations on detectors and/or headphones?

Thanks

Lance

As far as a hearing test goes, you know that an official medical hearing test is administered in a sound proof room with head phones and you have to hit the little button when you hear the tone (at least thats how it was done when I was in the Army). So while this online test should only be used as a reference to see a doctor, it should still be taken with as little disruptive background noise as possible and with headphones.

I used my ear buds from my ipod and heard all but the 17,000hz and 20,000hz.

I am a little curious about this "Please try our Online Pregnancy Test site" which was pulled off that page though.
 
I got a kick out of the online pregnancy test also. I'm the counselor at the alternative ed high school in our district and work with lots of pregnant teens. I've never referred a gal to an online pregnancy test! I guess I'll have to do that next time and see what the results are! :)
 
I heard from 20-18000. the 20 sounded funny, kinda crumply. Maybe it's because I'm plugging my headphones into some crappy old dell speakers on a crappy soundcard.
 
I didn't read it but as soon as I saw that link I pictured someone peeing on their keyboard and watching the monitor for results :crackup::crackup::confused:
 
You might want to look into the Garrett GTX series detectors. They have multiple tone choices and settings and they have a "belltone" setting that you should be able to hear unless you were almost deaf. In fact it is difficult for those with good hearing, to use it in that setting for very long. I have an older GTA 1000 that allows unlimited tone and volume settings. I am certain that it would work in your situation. Good luck with whatever you choose.:yes:
 
Thanks for the online hearing test.

I can only hear between 200 through 2000.
I must be deaf as all get out.:(
 
I'd go with the Tesoro DeLeon. It is a single tone machine, silent search (it only makes noise when you pass the coil over metal), and it has a visual ID that for me anyway, has proven fairly accurate.

I dirt fish 99% of the time (this includes tot lots with wood chips), but it also works just fine on dry sand beaches at the local lakes (fresh water). My soils here are mild so I do not notice the lack of manual ground balance.

If you end up with a DeLeon, PM me and I will share what screen ID numbers typically mean for my area.
 
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