Hearing loss is not simply about volume, it’s also about pitch. It’s conceivable you have some level of high-frequency hearing loss if you can understand what the men in the room are saying but you can’t hear children and women. This is a very common 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. Usually, consonant sounds such as t, th, ch, soft c, s, sh, f, k, and h are the hardest to differentiate. Even though a woman or a child is not mumbling, it might sound like they are. Losing the ability to differentiate these sounds makes it very hard to understand a child’s joke or your sister’s question about dinner plans. This can cause frustration, despair and social isolation from your circle of family and friends.
Other sounds within the high-frequency hearing loss range (2000 Hz) are missed by people with this problem. This includes birds chirping, high musical notes, sirens or squeaks. Low-frequency sounds such as bass musical notes, the rumble of thunder or a man’s voice might still be fairly easy to detect, even if the volume isn’t very loud.
Causes of High-Frequency Hearing Loss
As the most common type of loss of hearing, high-frequency hearing loss can sneak up on people as they get older, often imperceptibly in the beginning. high-frequency hearing loss can be induced by other things besides aging such as specific medical conditions like cardiovascular disease, excessive noise exposure, and various medications.
These situations all cause damage to the tiny, hair-like sensory cells within the cochlea. Sound input is picked up by these tiny cells and sent to the brain for processing. The higher pitched sounds are usually the first to be hard to understand because the high-frequency cells get damaged more easily than the lower pitched cells.
high-frequency Hearing Loss, How to Avoid it
Even though you can’t stop your ears from growing older, there are several things you can do to prevent or at least slow down the advancement of high-frequency hearing loss. Including these:
- If you take any medication, ask your doctor if it has any effect on hearing. high-frequency hearing loss can be triggered by at least 200 different kinds of medications. Even aspirin at high doses can harm your hearing. To learn if there are choices less likely to injure your hearing, consult your doctor. Stay in close contact with your hearing health care provider if you can’t avoid using a particular medication. Additional hearing loss can be prevented by treatment.
- When removing earwax, never utilize a swab or any other small object. This can jam old ear wax into your ear canal and blunt your ability to hear. Gently wash out excessive earwax with a rag after you shower, or ask your hearing professional about other ear irrigation techniques for eliminating earwax without damaging your hearing.
- Using hearing protection in noisy settings.A definite indication that your ears could be getting damaged is if you have to yell to be heard in a noisy environment. Some instances of occasions when wearing ear-plugs are live music concerts, motorcycles revving, power tools running, and a loud music system. Noise-canceling headphones are also a good option in certain situations, but might not fit in your pocket as easily as ear-plugs.
- Your health is important so take good care of it. Your hearing can be damaged by smoking. Your hearing can also be harmed from poor health caused by poor nutrition. Protect your hearing by taking care of your general health.
- Quieter things are better. Pick the quietest model by checking the noise rating of the appliances. If it’s tough to hear your friends at dinner, don’t be afraid to ask the manager to turn the music down.
high-frequency Hearing Loss Treatment
Hearing aids are presently the most efficient strategy for treating high-frequency hearing loss. And there are numerous designs to pick from because this is the most widespread kind of hearing loss. Hearing aids can boost high-pitched sounds so they are clearer to the listener. Several models are configurable and your hearing care expert can help fine-tune them to improve your ability to hear those sounds at the correct level, immediately addressing the level and extent of the hearing loss. Some hearing aids can be controlled by your phone and come with 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. Chances are, there are individually-tailored solutions that can increase your capacity to catch your grandchild’s priceless one-liners.