So, I brought this topic up for two reasons. One is hi-fi /
audiophilia, but I’ll start
another thread about that. The other, that we may as well use this thread to talk about, is
hearing loss and what to do about it.
I know people who have completely lost some or most of their hearing, sometimes very rapidly (I think it was due to disease or drug ototoxicity, though I’m not sure) and it is life-changing. Some get hearing aids or cochlear implants, and do the hard work to learn how to use them, and carry on okay. Others get withdrawn, socially remote, and stop interacting.
I am interested in learning
if there are early warning signs of abnormal hearing loss, especially disease or drug related, and what you should do? And also about how you go about choosing and getting a hearing aid, with so many types both professionally fitted and off-the-shelf?
That’s abnormal hearing loss. Then there is normal hearing loss, which is what happens to most people as we age, especially in our unnaturally and extremely noisy environment.
(Before the Industrial Age, people weren’t exposed to a fraction of the noise that we are today. Go into the woods, it is quiet. Return to the city, it is loud even if you don’t ride motorcycles or play in a metal band. Our ears evolved to be sensitive enough for the quiet, not to withstand the loud.)
I’m interested in
what is “normal” hearing loss, and what is abnormal like “you should get treatment!”. I found this not-very-authoritative-looking website that seems to suggest that most of the reports we’ve given here reflect pretty normal age-related loss with a little contribution from loud activities.
https://decibelhearing.com/high-frequency-hearing-loss/
It
claims:
- 8,000 Hz should be easily heard by everyone with normal hearing
- 12,000 Hz is hard for anyone over 50 years of age to hear
- 15,000 Hz is difficult for anyone over the age of 40 to hear
- 17,400 Hz is a frequency that only teenagers can hear. Most people over the age of 18 cannot hear this tone
What is normal hearing loss?
What would - or should - make you consult a hearing doctor? Is there anything we can do now to improve our hearing or slow normal loss?