By Lorann Brown, Au.D., CCC/A, F-AAA
Hearing loss affects people across a wide variety of ages. Overtime, as our bodies age, it is normal for some of our senses to degrade as well. Age-related hearing loss is called presbycusis. Presbycusis typically impacts your ability to hear high-pitched sounds first. The reason this occurs is due to how your hearing organ, your cochlea, is organized. High frequency sensors sit at the very base of your cochlea. Therefore, any sound that enters your cochlea passes over the high frequency cells first. Leading them to slowly wear down over long periods of time.
High frequency hearing loss leads to a number of communication difficulties. One of them being difficulty hearing consonants which are most responsible for clarity of speech. As high frequency hearing loss progresses, you may find yourself thinking, “I can hear you, but I can’t understand you.” Hearing in background noise becomes increasingly more difficult as age-related hearing loss progresses.
It is important to establish a baseline of where your hearing is at even before you notice any difficulty hearing. If you feel like you have difficulty hearing, contact our office to schedule your first hearing evaluation.
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