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What Is High-frequency Hearing Loss?

If you struggle hearing your grandchildren speak or are missing the sounds of birds chirping at Lake Shawnee Trail, you may have high-frequency hearing loss.

High-frequency hearing loss is when you struggle to hear higher-pitched sounds. It’s one of the earlier signs of sensorineural hearing loss, and it can cause you to miss out on some of the sounds that are most important to you.

Causes of High-frequency Hearing Loss

High-frequency hearing loss happens when the hair cells of your inner ear are damaged. These cells play a vital role in the hearing process. Once damaged, they cannot be repaired.

Various factors can contribute to this, including:

  1. Aging

  2. Exposure to loud noise

  3. Genetic conditions

  4. Certain medications

  5. Meniere’s disease

  6. Chronic ear infections

Sounds You May Struggle To Hear With High-Frequency Hearing Loss

In addition to birds chirping in the park, other sounds that may be difficult to hear include:

  1. Doorbells

  2. Devices beeping

  3. Women’s and children’s voices

  4. Words that start with “s” “h” or “f”

Hearing Loss Impacts Your Ability To Connect With Others

One of the biggest impacts of high-frequency hearing loss is that it makes speech harder to understand. This can affect you in a variety of ways, from struggling to hear at work to putting strain on your personal relationships.

Hearing loss can lead to misunderstandings and not picking up what your spouse, children and other loved ones are saying. This leads to frustration on both ends and can push those with hearing loss into isolation to avoid social interactions. This can lead to worsening mental health and even impact cognitive function.

Hearing Aids Let You Hear the World Around You

If you have signs of hearing loss, schedule an appointment for a hearing test as soon as possible. The sooner hearing loss is diagnosed, the sooner treatment can improve your ability to hear and stay connected to others.

The most common treatment for hearing loss, including high-frequency hearing loss, is hearing aids. In addition to the results of your hearing test, your audiologist will ask questions about your preferences and specific needs to help find a custom pair that best fit your lifestyle.

Using hearing aids can benefit your health, strengthen your relationships, and allows you to continue experiencing the sounds you most want to hear.

Take charge of your hearing health today and schedule an appointment with the experts at Topeka ENT.

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