Birds chirping, children’s voices, consonants like “f” and “s”—these are all sounds you may be missing out on if you’re struggling with high-frequency hearing loss.
When people first begin struggling with their hearing, it’s usually high-pitched sounds that go first. This is called high-frequency hearing loss. High-frequency hearing loss is detected with a hearing test. Your results are plotted on an audiogram—a graph that tracks the pitches you hear. Sound frequency is measured in hertz (Hz), with higher numbers indicating higher-pitched sounds.
When it comes to high-frequency hearing loss, an audiogram will show a downward slope to the right, indicating you’re unable to hear high-pitched sounds. For example, someone with typical high-frequency hearing loss will see a drop between 2,000–8,000 Hz on their audiogram.
What does high-frequency hearing loss sound like? You may notice difficulty hearing and understanding words that have high-frequency consonants in them, such as “f”, “s,” or “th.” You may also struggle to hear certain notes or instruments in songs, as well as soft or high-pitched voices.
If you are struggling with your hearing, you should schedule a Miracle-Ear appointment to take a hearing loss test. As noted above, audiogram results will show where your high-frequency hearing loss begins and the degree to which it drops off, giving you a clear picture of where you struggle and where there are opportunities to improve your hearing.
Because the damage that causes high-frequency hearing loss is often irreversible, there are limited options for treating it. If the loss is associated with an underlying medical condition, that should be addressed first. Otherwise, hearing aids can help. Miracle-Ear carries hearing aids for high-frequency hearing loss in a wide variety of styles and models.
Receiver-in-the-canal (RIC) hearing aids are a good choice for those struggling with high-frequency sounds, because of the open design of the earpiece. The design prevents the muffling of low-frequency sounds (occlusion effect) while the programming amplifies the high-frequency sounds you might otherwise miss.
When it comes to high-frequency hearing loss prevention, two of the most important things you can do are:
Often, people who have tinnitus struggle with some degree of hearing loss—and it’s more common for that loss to be in the high-frequency range. Hearing aids are often recommended for people with hearing loss and tinnitus to both support your hearing and distract from the ringing in your ears.
