Hearing Loss – High Frequency Hearing Impairment

One of the most important senses in human beings is hearing. Without the ability to communicate, life would be very complicated. Hearing is accomplished through the ear. The hearing process is accomplished through the use of various components of the ear and how they are able to process the different frequencies. One of the hearing problems that one can develop is high frequency hearing loss. This is caused by damage to the hair cells in the cochlea. The hair cells that are close to the entrance are the ones that are mainly responsible for detecting high frequency sounds. This condition deprives one the ability to detect high frequency sounds especially the ones that are brought about by the use of consonants. Uttering each letter during speech is known to produce a specific frequency. This condition affects the ability of the ear to hear the high frequencies.

There are various reasons that tend to be associated with this type of hearing loss. One of the main causes of this condition is continous exposure to to high frequency sounds. Examples include people who work in areas where there is a lot of noise like construction sites or firemen who have to deal with noisy sirens or even people who work in night clubs which may play loud music. Another common cause of this type of hearing loss is old age. Growing old is known to affect many organs in humans and the ear is not an exception. As one gets older the hair cells gradually get damaged with the cumulative exposure to high frequency sounds. Use of headphones which direct sound straight into the ear is also known to hasten the damage to the hair cells. This problem is also known to be hereditary in people who have a dominant gene for deafness in their family. There are also some diseases that are known to cause hear loss as a side effect. They include conditions like meningitis, measles, mumps and otosclerosis. These diseases are known to damage the hair cells in the cochlea. Studies also show that people who smoke have a higher chance of getting this type of hearing loss as compared to non smokers.

Once one suspects that they have a problem with their hearing, they can always go and visit an audiologist who will conduct several tests to help them establish what problem one may be suffering from. There are different types of tests that can be used to trace the source of the problem. Such tests include using audiograms which display the results of exposure to different tones on a graph and this can be used in a bid to establish what problem one is suffering from. There are different tests that can be done depending on the different equipment available in the hospital one chooses to visit.

Hearing aids are used in a bid to help the people who are suffering from hear loss to hear. They do this by bridging the gap created due to damage to portions of the ear and they help transmit the sounds directly into the ear.

High frequency hearing loss is a condition that affects many people and it is important for one to understand it.