Humans have the ability to hear a wonderful range of sounds that bring joy into our lives. These sounds can include:
- Live music
- Children laughing and playing
- Birds chirping outside your window
- Conversations with loved ones
- The river running through Brandywine Park
People with normal hearing can perceive sounds at frequencies between 20 and 20,000 Hz. If you experience hearing loss that range can start to narrow, and you begin to miss out on the full range of sounds the world has to offer.
Hearing Loss and High-Frequency Sounds 
Typically, higher frequency (meaning higher-pitched sounds) are the first sounds that become difficult to hear when you start to experience hearing loss. One of the ways this is most impactful is that it can affect your ability to comprehend speech. You may:
- Struggle to understand people with higher-pitched voices, like women and children
- Have trouble distinguishing different speech sounds like “s” and “h”
- Find it difficult to follow conversations where multiple people are talking
- Trouble hearing people when there is a lot of background noise
Hearing Loss Can Make It Harder to Connect
When hearing loss disrupts your ability to understand speech, it can affect your ability to connect with others. Struggling to follow conversations can leave you feeling anxious and depressed during social interactions. You may start to withdraw or isolate rather than continue to put yourself in situations that make you feel uncomfortable, and distance you from your loved ones.
Hearing Aids Help You Reconnect
If you notice that you’re struggling to follow conversations, make an appointment to get your hearing tested. Whether you need a hearing screening or an audiology evaluation, testing is fast, painless and offers same-day test results and a quick diagnosis.
Hearing aids are the most common treatment option for hearing loss. However, there are a variety of different sizes, styles and technology options to choose from. Your audiologist will work with you to get a sense of your unique needs and preferences to find the right fit for your lifestyle.
Don’t let hearing loss rob you from experiencing all the sounds you can. Contact Wilmington Audiology Services and schedule a hearing test today.