Our ability to hear starts to change from the moment we’re
born. At age 20, we’re no longer able to hear some of
the sounds infants can. By the time we’re 30 or 40,
significant but subtle losses have typically begun to occur.
Hearing doesn’t usually diminish across the board,
with everything becoming increasingly inaudible. Instead,
hearing loss affects certain frequencies more than others.
Higher frequencies or higher pitches are the first to go.
In human speech, vowel sounds, which are lower in pitch,
continue to be heard, but consonants, which are higher in
pitch, begin to drop out. The hardest to hear are the soft
consonants: b, s, sh, p, t, th, and z. The result is that
the person with hearing loss has trouble distinguishing words
like “fish” from “dish” or “tip” from “bit”.
That’s why many hearing-impaired people report that
they can “hear the words, but not understand them.”
Hearing Loss Demonstration To hear what conversation might sound like to someone
with a hearing loss, click the button below. Notice how much
concentration it takes to understand what is being said.
Note: The latest version of the Macromedia Flash
Player is required to hear this demonstration. It can be
found here.
