Image shows little girl whispering to woman's ear who has high-frequency hearing loss

What is high-frequency hearing loss?

People who suffer from high-frequency hearing loss have difficulty hearing high-pitched sounds. A notable consequence of this is that consonants become difficult to hear, meaning that others may sound like they are mumbling.

High-frequency hearing loss is often caused by age-related hearing loss and noise-induced hearing loss.

Illustration shows part of the ear where high-frequency hearing loss occurs
Image shows woman during hearing test

Book a FREE* hearing check for high-frequency hearing loss

Book a FREE* hearing check to find out if you have high-frequency or another type of hearing loss. We can suggest treatment options and help you understand your condition better.
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What causes high-frequency hearing loss?

High-frequency hearing loss can be caused by a wide range of health and lifestyle factors. Causes of high-frequency hearing loss include:

  • Aging
  • Genetics
  • Exposure to certain drugs
  • Syndromes
  • Diseases
  • Noise exposure
Low-frequency hearing loss

Preventing high-frequency hearing loss

While there are many health and lifestyle factors that can contribute to your risk for developing high-frequency hearing loss, there are steps that you can take to prevent it.

Using ear plugs (or other hearing protection) in excessively loud environments is a great way to protect your ears from damaging sound levels.

Untreated hearing loss

Diem_grey_background_196
Diem Smith - Clinician

BSc, M.Aud (Hons), MNZAS, CCC

Diem graduated from the University of Auckland in 2000 and began her career in the public sector at the National Audiology Centre.  She then went on to work in London at a specialist paediatric hospital for 2 years.

On her return to New Zealand Diem worked for a hearing aid manufacturer for 5 years as a sales and product support audiologist before a move to the Bay of Plenty where she worked with adults and children for 5 years at a private clinic in Whakatane. This clinic also provided public hospital audiology support for the Eastern Bay of Plenty.  

Diem has now been with Audika for the past 10 years in various roles, one of which was Clinical Trainer where she enjoyed being able to support her fellow clinicians to provide quality hearing care for all Audika clients. During this time, Diem was also on the NZAS Executive Council for two years. Her many years of experience and well-honed skills has allowed her to help reconnect her clients with their family and loved ones on their hearing journey.

 
 
 

Signs and symptoms of high-frequency hearing loss

Struggling to follow conversations and understand what others say are two common signs of high-frequency hearing loss. Other signs include:

Image shows people in conversation
Difficulty following conversations
You have difficulty following group conversations (especially when background noise is present)
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Phone conversations are unclear
You have trouble following phone conversations in quiet and noisy places
Image shows woman holding hand close to her ear
People seem to be mumbling
You often ask people to repeat themselves. Sounds seem unclear, or people sound like they are mumbling
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Difficulty locating sounds
You have difficulty locating where sounds are coming from
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Signs of tinnitus
You experience ringing or buzzing sounds in your ears (called tinnitus)
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Turning up the TV too loud
Your friends or family say you turn the television up too loud
Image of man talking to an audiologist in a hearing clinic in front of a screen with audiogram

Treatment for high-frequency hearing loss

Our hearing care experts often recommend hearing aids as an effective treatment method for high-frequency hearing loss. More specifically, the hearing aids can be programmed to focus on amplifying higher frequency sounds, thereby allowing the hearing aid user to hear these sounds again.

Our hearing care experts will be able to provide the best guidance on which type of hearing aid is best for your individual needs.

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