Hearing Aids & Effects on Sensorineural High Frequency Loss
Hearing aid technology has grown and evolved much over the past 50 years. People have gone from wearing speaker boxes connected to a tube in the ear to almost invisible, digital devices hidden behind the ear that seem to magically augment sound.
Causes
Sensorineural hearing loss accounts for 90 percent of hearing loss. It can be caused by old age, genetics, some medicines, diseases or trauma to the ear (loud noise).
Effects
Most people with sensorineural hearing loss lose the ability to hear the higher frequencies. That means that they cannot hear high notes, but can still hear low notes.
Speech
Consonant sounds are in the higher frequencies, and vowel sounds are usually in the mid to lower frequencies, depending upon the voice of the speaker. People with high frequency hearing loss have difficulty understanding speech because they do not hear consonants.
Hearing Aids
Many digital hearing aids can be programmed to amplify the frequencies that the wearer does not hear naturally. This gives hard of hearing people the ability to converse in noisy environments, such as parties and restaurants.
Types
Hearing aids are designed to be worn either in the ear or behind the ear. "In the Ear" types come in different sizes, the smallest sits furthest inside the ear canal. "Behind the Ear" types have a casing that rests behind the ear (where eyeglass handles sit) and a microphone is in that case. A tube runs from the casing into the ear canal. The speaker is on the end of the tube.
Tags: hearing loss, Hearing Aids, Aids Effects, , Effects Sensorineural, Effects Sensorineural High