Music - Do I hear what you hear?

I love to listen to music. Growing up I would often listen to music with my hearing aids off and headphones on. Yet I often wonder if I hear the same as other people hear. I know that my hearing loss is not a straight line, I hear some sounds louder than other sounds. This must alter the music that I hear to some degree.

Most of the time I listen to music through my hearing aids. My hearing aids alter the sound that comes into my ears. I know that some sounds are a lot more mechanical to me when I'm wearing my hearing aids then when I am not.

All this leads me to the conclusion that I have no idea how music really sounds. I remember watching American Idol and asking my husband if the person was singing good or not. I simply cannot tell.

I do know what I like and don't like. In the end that is all that matters. As curious as I am to what the difference is between my ears and "normal" ears it's not an answer I would ever obtain. And if I did I might not enjoy the same sounds that I do now.

There is only one aspect of music that I know would be different if I didn't have a hearing loss: base. I can't stand base. My ears are very sensitive and base hurts. In my car I have the base turned down as far as it will go. The few rock concerts I have gone to leave my ears ringing and numb for a day or more after wards. Today it seems a lot of people my age really enjoy base while I run fleeing in the other direction.

I'm sure some of this comes down to aesthetics. But when dealing with a hearing loss how much is the loss affecting the aesthetics? I already know I avoid base more than I would if my hearing was fine. It's a mystery that shall remain buried.