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High-frequency hearing loss

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What is high-frequency hearing loss?

High-frequency hearing loss refers to having 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.

Section of the ear anatomy highlighting the area affected by high-frequency hearing loss
Woman wearing headphones and holding a response button during a hearing test.

Book a free test for high-frequency hearing loss

Schedule a free hearing test 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

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:

People chatting outdoors in a social setting
Difficulty following conversations
You have difficulty following group conversations (especially when background noise is present)
Man wearing earphones and looking at his smartphone in a brightly lit indoor setting.
Phone conversations are unclear
You have trouble following phone conversations in quiet and noisy places
Elderly woman touching her ear, possibly indicating hearing difficulties.
People seem to be mumbling
You often ask people to repeat themselves. Sounds seem unclear, or people sound like they are mumbling
Woman with gray hair and hearing aid focusing on sound.
Difficulty locating sounds
You have difficulty locating where sounds are coming from
Woman experiencing ear pain with illustrated lightning bolts near her ear.
Signs of tinnitus
You experience ringing or buzzing sounds in your ears (called tinnitus)
Elderly couple sitting together on a couch while watching television.
Turning up the TV too loud
Your friends or family say you turn the television up too loud
An older man sits with an audiologist in a hearing clinic. The audiologist holds a device, discussing hearing aids on the desk. A monitor displays hearing test results; plants decorate the scene.

Treatment for high-frequency hearing loss

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

Book a FREE appointment Hearing loss treatment

Woman wearing an Oticon Zeal hearing aid. A pair of Oticon Zeal hearing aids are featured and labelled new Woman wearing an Oticon Zeal hearing aid. A pair of Oticon Zeal hearing aids are featured and labelled new

Oticon Zeal™

Meet the first hearing aid to do it all—unseen. Finally.

  • Discreet design that fits comfortably and securely in your ear.
  • Supports conversations using intelligent sound processing.
  • Connects to your favourite devices.
  • All-day power when you need it - enjoy up to 20 hours of battery life* and charge on the go.
Book a risk-free experience Learn more about Oticon Zeal™
A man wearing a blue Oticon Intent hearing aid A man wearing a blue Oticon Intent hearing aid

Oticon Intent™

The extraordinary innovation inside Oticon Intent™ uniquely adapts to each moment using breakthrough sensors, manages wind and unpredictable sounds, and has been designed to be smaller yet more powerful than previous behind-the-ear models.

Hearing aid features:

  • Digital hearing aids
  • Available styles: miniRITE R
  • Features the world's first user-intent sensors
  • New and improved built-in artificial intelligence 
  • Rechargeable, with more power between charges than before
  • Seamless connection to your other devices
Book a risk-free experience Learn more about Oticon Intent™
A man wearing an Oticon Own SI hearing aid. A pair of Oticon Own SI hearing aids are featured A man wearing an Oticon Own SI hearing aid. A pair of Oticon Own SI hearing aids are featured

Oticon Own SI™

Oticon's most discreet hearing aids to date.

  • Breakthrough AI technology trained on millions of complex sounds to provide a natural-like representation of sound and speech.
  • Stabilisation features designed to detect and manage disruptive noises so you can enjoy the moment without interruption.
  • Discreet design that is truly invisible in 9 out of 10 ears.*
Book a risk-free experience Learn more about Oticon Own SI™
A man wearing an Oticon More hearing aid. There is a CES 2021 Innovation Awards label A man wearing an Oticon More hearing aid. There is a CES 2021 Innovation Awards label

Oticon More™

Oticon's most intelligent hearing solution

The groundbreaking technology in Oticon More™ enables you to hear more details, understand more, and remember more with less effort.

  • Better speech understanding with less effort
  • Rechargeability
  • More clarity and focus while listening
  • Bluetooth® connectivity
Book a risk-free experience Learn more about Oticon More™
Man wearing the Oticon Own hearing aid and on his phone at a skate park. Man wearing the Oticon Own hearing aid and on his phone at a skate park.

Oticon Own™

Oticon's new fully custom hearing solution
No two people are alike, and the same goes for our ears.
Oticon Own™ is tailored to each user for the most comfortable fit.

  • Personalized to fit your needs and lifestyle
  • Superior listening experience
  • Easy connectivity to your devices
Book a risk-free experience Learn more about Oticon Own™
Smiling man wearing an Otcion Opn S hearing aid. The featured hearing aid is labelled with the redot design award. Smiling man wearing an Otcion Opn S hearing aid. The featured hearing aid is labelled with the redot design award.

Oticon Opn S™

On par with normal hearing

Oticon Opn S™ allows you to join the conversation in noisy environments and enjoy speech understanding on par with normal hearing.

  • Better speech understanding

  • Reduced listening effort

  • Reduced feedback noise

  • Ability to follow conversations with multiple speakers

Book a risk-free experience Learn more about Oticon Opn S

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  2. Hearing loss
  3. Types
  4. High frequency