Hearing loss isn’t just about volume, it’s about pitch. If you find it hard to understand the speech of a child or a woman, but you can still, for the most part, understand the men in the room, you might have some level of high-frequency hearing loss. This is a very prevalent kind of hearing loss so you’re not alone.
high-frequency Hearing Loss Warning Signs
With high-frequency hearing loss, you could still be able to register the volume of a woman’s voice or a child’s voice, but consonant sounds that make conversations easy to understand, get muddled. Normally the hardest to differentiate are consonant sounds such as ch, th, t, soft s, c, sh, k, f, and h. So, it might sound like a woman or child is mumbling, even though they aren’t. Understanding a child’s joke or your loved ones question about dinner plans becomes very difficult because you have lost the ability to differentiate these sounds. This can lead to frustration, despair and social isolation from your circle of friends and family.
Other sounds within the high-frequency hearing loss range (2000 Hz) are missed by people with this condition. This includes high musical notes, birds chirping, and squeaks or sirens. Low-frequency sounds such as bass musical notes, the rumble of thunder or a man’s voice may still be relatively easy to discern, even if the volume isn’t very loud.
Causes of High-Frequency Hearing Loss
Often imperceptible at first, high-frequency hearing loss, the most widespread type of hearing loss, can sneak up on you as you grow older. high-frequency hearing loss can be caused by other things besides aging like specific medical disorders like cardiovascular disease, too much noise exposure, and some medications.
These situations all harm to the little, hair-like sensory cells within the cochlea. It’s these tiny cells that pick up sound input and send it to the brain for processing. The higher pitched sounds are frequently the first to become difficult to understand because the high-frequency cells become injured more easily than the lower pitched cells.
How to Avoid High-Frequency Hearing Loss
You can take several steps to slow or stop the development of high-frequency hearing loss despite the fact that you can’t stop your ears from growing older. Including these:
- If you use any medication, ask your doctor if it has any impact on hearing. high-frequency hearing loss can be triggered by at least 200 different kinds of medications. Even too much aspirin can harm your hearing. Check with your doctor to determine if there are options less likely to damage your hearing. If you can’t avoid using a particular medication, stay in close communication with your hearing professional for regular hearing loss and balance testing. Treating hearing loss early can help avoid further loss.
- Putting in hearing protection in noisy locations.A certain indication that your ears could be getting injured is if you have to shout to be heard in a noisy environment. Heavy traffic, engines revving, power tool sounds, the loud sound systems at movie theaters or rock concerts are all good examples of instances when putting in the ear-plugs is a good idea. Noise-canceling headphones are also a good alternative in certain situations, but might not fit in your pocket as easily as ear-plugs.
- Getting quiet things. Find noise ratings on appliances and choose the quietest versions. And don’t be scared to ask the restaurant manager to turn the music down if it’s difficult to hear your dinner companions.
- Your health is important so take care of it. Your hearing can be damaged by smoking. Your hearing can also be harmed from poor health caused by poor nutrition. Preserve your hearing by taking care of your general health.
- When removing earwax, never use a swab or any other small object. Your ability to hear becomes blunted when you push old earwax against your eardrum. Carefully wipe out excessive earwax with a cloth after you shower, or ask your hearing professional about other ear irrigation techniques for eliminating earwax without hurting your hearing.
Treatment For High-Frequency Hearing Loss
Currently, the most reliable method for dealing with high-frequency hearing loss is hearing aids. And there are numerous models to choose from since this is the most prevalent kind of hearing loss. Hearing aids can augment high-pitched sounds so they are clearer to the user. You can immediately manage your level and extent of hearing loss by having your hearing care professional fine-tune your hearing aid to improve your ability to hear sounds at the right level. Many hearing aids can be manipulated by your phone and come with directional microphones for fine-tuning in situations such as business meetings, restaurant dinners, talking on the phone or listening to children.
If you suspect that you may be dealing with high-frequency hearing loss, schedule a hearing examination. If you would like to enhance your ability to hear your grandchild’s priceless one-liner, chances are there are individually tailored answers for you.