Hearing loss is about pitch as much as volume. It’s possible you have some degree of high-frequency hearing loss if you can comprehend what the men in the room are saying but you can’t hear women and children. This is a very prevalent type of hearing loss so you’re not alone.
high-frequency Hearing Loss Warning Signs
With high-frequency hearing loss, consonant sounds that make conversations understandable, get muddled even though you might still be able to pick up on the volume of a woman or a child’s voice. Normally the hardest to differentiate are consonant sounds such as ch, th, t, soft s, c, sh, k, f, and h. Even though a woman or a child is not mumbling, it might sound that way. 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. Separation from family and friends, sadness, and frustration can be the result.
Other sounds within the high-frequency hearing loss range (2000 Hz) are missed by people who have this condition. This includes high musical notes, birds chirping, and squeaks or whistles. Even at low volumes a man’s voice, thunder, and bass musical notes, might be fairly easy to detect.
Causes of High-Frequency Hearing Loss
Frequently imperceptible at first, high-frequency hearing loss, the most prevalent kind of hearing loss, can sneak up on you as you age. high-frequency hearing loss can be caused by other things in addition to aging such as certain medical disorders like cardiovascular disease, too much noise exposure, and various medications.
The tiny hair-like sensors inside the cochlea are harmed by all of these scenarios. Sound input is picked up by these little cells and sent to the brain for processing. The high-frequency sensory cells are more sensitive to damage than the low-frequency sensory cells, which is why the higher-pitched sounds are frequently the first to be difficult to understand.
How to Avoid High-Frequency Hearing Loss
You can do several things to slow down or stop the development of high-frequency hearing loss despite the fact that you can’t stop your ears from aging. Including these:
- Ask your doctor about medications you take. At least 200 different kinds of medications will cause or worsen high-frequency hearing loss. Your hearing can even be injured by high doses of aspirin. Check with your doctor to determine if there are possibilities less likely to harm your hearing. If you can’t avoid using a specific medication, keep in close communication with your hearing professional for regular hearing loss and balance testing. Additional hearing loss can be prevented by treatment.
- Your health is important so take good care of it. Smoking can injury your hearing. Your hearing can also be harmed from poor health due to poor nutrition. Try to take good care of your health in all ways and this will protect your hearing also.
- When getting rid of earwax, never use a swab or any other small object. Your ability to hear is blunted when you jam old earwax against your eardrum. Carefully wash out excessive earwax with a cloth after you shower, or ask your hearing care specialist about different ear irrigation techniques for getting rid of earwax without hurting your hearing.
- Quieter things are more ideal. Find noise ratings on appliances and choose the quietest versions. If it’s tough to hear your friends at dinner, don’t be scared to ask the manager to turn down the music.
- In noisy conditions, use hearing protection. If you have to shout to be heard in a noisy environment, this is a definite indication the noise might damage your hearing. Some instances of times when putting in ear protection are rock concerts, motorcycles revving, power tools running, and a loud stereo. Noise canceling headphone might not fit in your pocket, but they are the best option in certain scenarios.
high-frequency Hearing Loss Treatment
At this time, the most reliable technique for managing high-frequency hearing loss is hearing aids. And since this is the most common kind of hearing loss, there are various different models a person can choose from. So that they are clearer to the user, hearing aids can boost high pitched sounds. You can immediately address your level and extent of hearing loss by having your hearing care expert fine-tune your hearing aid to enhance your ability to hear sounds at the right level. Some hearing aids can be manipulated by your phone and include directional microphones for fine-tuning in situations like business meetings, restaurant dinners, talking on the phone or listening to children.
If you suspect that you might have high-frequency hearing loss, schedule a hearing examination. Odds are, there are individually-customized answers that can improve your capacity to catch your grandchild’s priceless one-liners.
