Hear for the Holidays

As the holidays draw near you may find yourself concerned with your ability to hear family and friends at holiday parties and gatherings. Many people often report that they can hear the conversation around them but can’t understand what people are saying or they state that people often mumble. This may be especially true in a crowded restaurant or room.

If this situation sounds familiar you may have a hearing loss in one or both ears. A type of hearing loss often seen in older adults is known as ‘presbycusis’. Presbycusis describes a pattern of hearing loss that manifests in the high pitch range. This means low pitched sounds (men’s voices etc) are easy to hear but high pitched sounds (women and childrens’ voices, birds, etc) are much more difficult to hear.

Speech is comprised of many different sounds and they all need to be heard well in order to understand conversation clearly. Low pitched speech sounds, such as vowels, bring the volume or the “power” to speech. High pitched sounds, such as consonants, provide the clarity to speech. In the case of presbycusis, an individual can hear the low pitched vowels but are unable to distinguish the high pitch consonants which results in being able to hear that someone is talking but not being able to understand what they are saying. In addition, listening in a noisy environment such as a party or crowded restaurant can be difficult, stressful and exhausting. The volume of the background noise often “washes over” the soft high pitched consonants making them even more difficult to hear. Also, when a hearing loss is present the brain has a harder time teasing out a speech signal from the unwanted background noise.

If you find yourself struggling to hear loves ones this holiday season call 904-399-0350 to schedule an appointment for a comprehensive hearing evaluation with an audiologist. You will be able to learn more about your hearing and the steps you can take to communicate more easily with friends and family.