Hearing loss is not simply about volume, it’s about pitch. 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 common kind of hearing loss so you’re not alone.
high-frequency Hearing Loss Warning Signs
With high-frequency hearing loss, consonant sounds that allow conversations to be understood, 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 most difficult to pick out. 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. Separation from family and friends, sadness, and frustration can be the result.
People with high-frequency hearing loss also miss other sounds that are within the high-frequency range (2000 Hz and higher). This includes birds chirping, high musical notes, whistles or squeaks. Even at low volumes a man’s voice, thunder, and bass musical notes, might be fairly easy to discern.
Causes of High-Frequency Hearing Loss
Often imperceptible at first, high-frequency hearing loss, the most prevalent type of hearing loss, can creep up on you as you grow older. Apart from aging, excessive noise exposure, select medications and numerous medical conditions such as cardiovascular disease can result in high-frequency hearing loss.
These scenarios all cause damage to the tiny, hair-like sensory cells within the cochlea. Sound input is picked up by these little cells and sent to the brain for processing. The high-frequency sensory cells are more susceptible to damage than the low-frequency sensory cells, which is why the higher-pitched sounds are usually the first to become difficult to comprehend.
How to Avoid High-Frequency Hearing Loss
You can do several things to slow down or stop the development of high-frequency hearing loss even though you can’t stop your ears from growing older. Including these:
- Seeking out quiet things. Find noise ratings on appliances and choose the quietest products. And don’t be reluctant to ask the restaurant manager to turn down the music if it’s difficult to hear your dinner companions.
- Wearing hearing protection in noisy situations.A definite sign that your ears might be getting injured is if you need to shout to be heard in a loud setting. Heavy traffic, engines revving, power tools running, the loud sound systems at movie theaters or rock concerts are all good examples of occasions when popping in the ear-plugs is a good idea. Noise canceling earphone might not fit inside your pocket, but they are the best option in some situations.
- 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 injure your hearing. consult your doctor to determine if there are possibilities less likely to injure your hearing. Stay in close contact with your hearing health care provider if you can’t abstain from using a certain medication. Further hearing loss can be prevented by treatment.
- Your health is important so take good care of it. Smoking can damage your hearing. Poor health, poor nutrition, or lack of exercise can also hurt your hearing. Try to take good care of your health in all aspects and this will protect your hearing also.
- When extracting earwax, never utilize a swab or any other small object. Your capacity to hear becomes blunted when you jam old earwax against your eardrum. A hot shower is usually enough o drain exes earwax but if this doesn’t work ask your hearing professional for other methods of irrigating your ears.
Treatment For High-Frequency Hearing Loss
Hearing aids are currently the most efficient method for dealing with high-frequency hearing loss. And because this is the most common kind of hearing loss, there are numerous different designs a person can choose from. Hearing aids can enhance high-pitched sounds so they are crisper to the listener. You can directly address your level and extent of hearing loss by having your hearing care professional fine-tune your hearing aid to enhance your ability to hear sounds at the right level. For circumstances like talking on the phone, listening to children, having dinner at a restaurant, or business meetings many hearing aids can be controlled by your phone and have directional microphones for fine-tuning.
If you think that you may have high-frequency hearing loss, make an appointment for a hearing exam. If you would like to enhance your ability to hear your grandchild’s priceless one-liner, odds are there are individually designed answers for you.