Hearing loss isn’t simply about volume, it’s also about pitch. If you find it hard to understand the speech of a woman or a child, but you can still, mostly understand the men in the room, you could have some level of high-frequency hearing loss. This is a very prevalent form of hearing loss so you’re not alone.
Symptoms of High-Frequency Hearing Loss
With high-frequency hearing loss, consonant sounds that make conversations understandable, get muddled even though you may still be able to register the volume of a woman or a child’s voice. Usually the hardest to pick up are consonant sounds such as ch, th, t, soft s, c, sh, k, f, and h. So, it may sound like a woman or child is mumbling, even though they actually aren’t. Losing the ability to distinguish these sounds makes it very difficult to understand a child’s joke or your sister’s question about dinner plans. This can lead to frustration, sadness and social isolation from your circle of friends and family.
People with high-frequency hearing loss also don’t hear other sounds falling within the high-frequency range (2000 Hz and higher). This includes birds chirping, high musical notes, whistles or squeaks. Low-frequency sounds like bass musical notes, the rumble of thunder or a man’s voice might still be quite easy to discern, even if the volume isn’t very loud.
Reasons For High-Frequency Hearing Loss
As the most widespread type of hearing loss, high-frequency hearing loss can creep up on people as they grow older, often imperceptibly at first. Besides aging, excessive noise exposure, particular medications and a variety of medical problems like cardiovascular disease can lead to high-frequency hearing loss.
These scenarios all harm to the tiny, hair-like sensory cells inside the cochlea. It’s these little cells that pick up sound input and send it to the brain for processing. The higher pitched sounds are commonly the first to become difficult to understand because the high-frequency cells get injured more easily than the lower pitched cells.
high-frequency Hearing Loss, How to Prevent it
You can do several things to slow or stop the development of high-frequency hearing loss even though you can’t stop your ears from getting older. Including these:
- When eliminating earwax, never use a swab or any other small object. This can jam old ear wax into your ear canal and blunt your capacity to hear. Carefully wipe out excessive earwax with a washcloth after you shower, or ask your hearing professional about different ear irrigation techniques for eliminating earwax without hurting your hearing.
- In loud conditions, wear hearing protection.A sure sign that your ears could be getting damaged is if you need to shout to be heard in a noisy location. Heavy traffic, engines revving, power tool sounds, the loud sound systems at movie theaters or live music concerts are all examples of times when putting in the ear-plugs is a good idea. Noise canceling headphone might not fit inside your pocket, but they can be the best solution in some circumstances.
- Your health is important so take good care of it. Smoking can injury your hearing. Your hearing can also be damaged by poor health due to poor nutrition. Try to take good care of your health in all aspects and this can protect your hearing also.
- If you take any medication, ask your doctor if it has any effect on hearing. high-frequency hearing loss can be caused by at least 200 different kinds of medications. Even aspirin at high doses can harm your hearing. consult your doctor to see if there are possibilities less likely to damage your hearing. Stay in close contact with your hearing health care provider if you can’t abstain from taking a certain medication. Further hearing loss can be avoided by treatment.
- Getting quiet things. Find the quietest model by examining the noise rating of the appliances. If it’s difficult to hear your friends at dinner, don’t be scared to ask the manager to turn the music down.
high-frequency Hearing Loss Treatment
Hearing aids are presently the most effective strategy for dealing with high-frequency hearing loss. And there are numerous models to choose from since this is the most prevalent kind of hearing loss. Hearing aids can enhance high-pitched sounds so they are clearer to the listener. Many models can be configured and your hearing care expert can help fine-tune them to improve your ability to hear those sounds at the right level, immediately addressing the level and degree of the hearing loss. Some hearing aids can be controlled by your phone and come with directional microphones for fine-tuning in circumstances such as business meetings, restaurant dinners, talking on the phone or listening to children.
Schedule a hearing test if you suspect you might have high-frequency hearing loss. Odds are, there are individually-tailored answers that can increase your capacity to catch your grandchild’s priceless one-liners.
