For anyone who is finding it tougher to hear ladies voices or children’s voices than to hear male voices, it may be a sign that you have suffered some degree of high-frequency hearing loss. Children’s and women’s voices have a higher frequency than men’s voices – 165 to 255 Hertz, as opposed to 85 to 180 Hertz for men. On top of that, the volume of women’s and children’s voice are often less audible because they speak more quietly that men. Although you may suspect that you have suffered a high-frequency hearing loss because you are having trouble hearing these voices, the only way to know for certain is to make an appointment for an exam.

If it turns out to be high-frequency hearing loss, you’re not alone; this is the most common form of hearing loss. High-frequency hearing loss can have many causes: genetics, aging, noise-induced hearing loss (exposure to loud sounds), certain diseases, and certain drugs. The good news is that high-frequency hearing loss can generally be counteracted with technology.

One effective option involves the fitting of digital hearing aids, whose sophisticated electronics can be programmed to respond differently to sounds at different frequencies. For a person suffering from high-frequency hearing loss, for example, a technician could program the digital hearing aid to raise the volume of high-pitched sounds, while not raising the volume of low-pitched sounds as much. Another treatment option is the use of open-fit hearing aids, which leave your ear canal open or partially open, so that low-frequency and mid-frequency sounds enter the ear normally, and only the high-frequency sounds are amplified. A third option for very severe cases of high-frequency hearing loss is a cochlear implant. Because they require minor surgery, cochlear implants are a more serious and more expensive option, but they can provide a solution in extreme cases involving industrial deafness or nerve deafness.

But the first step to finding a solution to your hearing problem is to have an examination, and allow our specialists to determine what the nature of it actually is. In some cases, for example, high-frequency hearing loss has been caused by nothing more than a buildup of ear wax, which can be cleared up without the need for any type of hearing aid. So the best “first step” in dealing with your hearing problem is to make an appointment and allow us to determine the real nature of the problem.