Hearing loss is about pitch as much as about volume. If you find it hard to comprehend 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 kind 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 may still be able to register the volume of a woman or a child’s voice. Normally the most difficult to pick up are consonant sounds like 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. Comprehending a child’s joke or a family member’s question about dinner plans becomes very difficult because you have lost the ability to differentiate these sounds. Isolation from family and friends, sadness, and frustration can be the result.
People who have high-frequency hearing loss also miss other sounds that are within the high-frequency range (2000 Hz and higher). 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 quite easy to detect, 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 get older, frequently imperceptibly in the beginning. high-frequency hearing loss can be triggered by other things in addition to aging such as certain medical problems like cardiovascular disease, too much noise exposure, and several medications.
These scenarios all do damage to the little, hair-like sensory cells inside of the cochlea. Sound input is picked up by these tiny cells and sent to the brain for processing. The high-frequency sensory cells are more susceptible to damage than the low-frequency sensory cells, and this is why the higher-pitched sounds are commonly the first to be difficult to understand.
How to Avoid High-Frequency Hearing Loss
Even though you can’t stop your ears from getting older, there are quite a few steps you can take to stop or at least slow down the progress of high-frequency hearing loss. Including these:
- Your health is important so take good care of it. Smoking can harm your hearing. Your hearing can also be damaged by poor health due to poor nutrition. Preserve your hearing by taking care of your general health.
- Quieter things are more ideal. Find noise ratings on appliances and pick the quietest models. If it’s difficult to hear your dinner companions, don’t be scared to ask the manager to turn down the music.
- Using hearing protection in noisy spaces.A sure sign that your ears might be getting damaged is if you need to yell to be heard in a noisy location. Heavy traffic, motorcycles revving, power tool sounds, the loud sound systems at movies or rock concerts are all good examples of occasions when popping in the ear-plugs is a good idea. Noise-canceling earphones are also a good option in certain circumstances, but may not fit in your pocket as easily as ear-plugs.
- Never utilize a swab (or other small objects) to get rid of ear wax. Your ability to hear becomes blunted when you jam old earwax against your eardrum. Gently clean out excessive earwax with a cloth when you’re done showering, or ask your hearing professional about other ear irrigation techniques for removing earwax without hurting your hearing.
- Ask your doctor about medications you use. 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 choices less likely to harm your hearing. If you can’t avoid taking a specific medication, stay in close communication with your hearing specialist for regular hearing loss and balance testing. Further hearing loss can be prevented by treatment.
high-frequency Hearing Loss Treatment
Presently, the most effective technique for managing high-frequency hearing loss is hearing aids. And there are numerous designs to pick from because this is the most prevalent type of hearing loss. So that they are clearer to the listener, hearing aids can boost high-pitched sounds. You can directly manage your level and degree of hearing loss by having your hearing care expert fine-tune your hearing aid to improve your ability to hear sounds at the correct level. For situations such as talking on the phone, listening to children, having dinner at a restaurant, or business meetings several hearing aids can be manipulated by your phone and have directional microphones for fine-tuning.
If you think that you might be dealing with high-frequency hearing loss, make an appointment for a hearing examination. Odds are, there are personally-tailored answers that can increase your ability to hear your grandchild’s priceless one-liners.
