{"id":3802,"date":"2020-01-31T10:24:11","date_gmt":"2020-01-31T18:24:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/hearingsb.com\/?p=3802"},"modified":"2025-08-19T13:40:19","modified_gmt":"2025-08-19T20:40:19","slug":"what-is-low-frequency-hearing-loss","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/hearingsb.com\/what-is-low-frequency-hearing-loss\/","title":{"rendered":"What Is Low-Frequency Hearing Loss?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>Low-frequency hearing loss is <a href=\"https:\/\/hearingsb.com\/hearing-loss\/\">hearing loss<\/a> characterized by difficulty hearing low-pitch sounds, including men\u2019s voices, musical bass and thunder. It\u2019s sometimes called reverse-slope hearing loss due to the shape it makes on an audiogram, which is a standard chart that Audiologists use to measure levels of hearing loss.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>For most people with<a title=\"low-frequency hearing loss | livescience.com\" href=\"https:\/\/www.livescience.com\/64478-reverse-slope-hearing-loss.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"> low-frequency hearing loss<\/a>, sounds at the volume of normal speech are most difficult to hear, particularly vowel sounds, which are vocalized at a lower frequency than consonants. If you don\u2019t already wear hearing aids, asking people to speak more loudly can be helpful.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">What Are the Signs of Reverse-Slope Hearing Loss?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image alignright size-large\"><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"1536\" height=\"864\" src=\"https:\/\/hearingsb.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/reverse-traffic-sign-scaled-1-1536x864.jpg\" alt=\"reverse traffic sign\" class=\"wp-image-3803\" srcset=\"https:\/\/hearingsb.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/reverse-traffic-sign-scaled-1-1536x864.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/hearingsb.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/reverse-traffic-sign-scaled-1-768x432.jpg 768w, https:\/\/hearingsb.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/reverse-traffic-sign-scaled-1-256x144.jpg 256w, https:\/\/hearingsb.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/reverse-traffic-sign-scaled-1.jpg 2048w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1536px) 100vw, 1536px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Apart from the regular symptoms associated with hearing loss, like difficulty talking on the phone and discerning speech when there is a lot of background noise, signs of low-frequency hearing loss include:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>An easier time hearing women and children than men<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Lack of \u201crumble\u201d sound from car, truck and airplane engines<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Keen sense of hearing for high-frequency sounds others cannot hear<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Preferring people to stand close to you when having a conversation<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Own spoken speech sounds relatively normal<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">What Causes Reverse-Slope Hearing Loss?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Most cases of low-frequency hearing loss are associated with <a title=\"Meniere\u2019s Disease | mayoclinic.org\" href=\"https:\/\/www.mayoclinic.org\/diseases-conditions\/menieres-disease\/symptoms-causes\/syc-20374910\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Meniere\u2019s Disease<\/a> \u2013 an autoimmune disorder that causes spells of <a title=\"\" href=\"https:\/\/hearingsb.com\/hearing-loss\/\">hearing loss<\/a>, dizziness\/vertigo and <a href=\"https:\/\/hearingsb.com\/tinnitus-misconceptions\/\">tinnitus<\/a> (ringing in the ears).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Some cases are genetic and present at birth, and others are acquired later in life, such as after a childhood illness.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>It\u2019s not uncommon for low-frequency hearing loss to worsen over time, eventually affecting more than just low frequencies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">What if I Suspect Low-Frequency Hearing Loss?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Low-frequency hearing loss can be difficult to diagnose since it is so rare, and hearing tests are typically calibrated to detect the more common high-frequency hearing loss. However, with accurate, in-depth tests, an audiogram can display the tell-tale shape of reverse-slope hearing loss.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>If you\u2019re diagnosed with low-frequency hearing loss, hearing aids can be a great option to amplify low-frequency sounds. Expect some degree of trial and error, as low-frequency hearing loss is more difficult to treat and may take some time to find the best amplification.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>For more information about low-frequency hearing loss, schedule an appointment at <a href=\"https:\/\/hearingsb.com\/about\/\">Hearing Services of Santa Barbara<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Learn More About Hearing Loss<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/hearingsb.com\/blame-technology-for-rise-in-hearing-loss-among-younger-people\/\">Blame Technology for Rise in Hearing Loss Among Younger People<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/hearingsb.com\/the-high-cost-of-untreated-hearing-loss\/\">The High Cost of Untreated Hearing Loss<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/hearingsb.com\/how-to-prevent-noise-induced-hearing-loss\/\">How to Prevent Noise-Induced Hearing Loss<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Low-frequency hearing loss is hearing loss characterized by difficulty hearing low-pitch sounds, including men\u2019s voices, musical bass and thunder. It\u2019s sometimes called reverse-slope hearing loss due to the shape it makes on an audiogram, which is a standard chart that Audiologists use to measure levels of hearing loss. For most people with low-frequency hearing loss, [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":3803,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"none","_seopress_titles_title":"","_seopress_titles_desc":"","_seopress_robots_index":"","event_date":"","formatted_date":"","formatted_time":"","location":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3802","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-hearing-loss"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/hearingsb.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3802","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/hearingsb.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/hearingsb.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hearingsb.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hearingsb.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3802"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/hearingsb.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3802\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6327,"href":"https:\/\/hearingsb.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3802\/revisions\/6327"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hearingsb.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3803"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/hearingsb.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3802"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hearingsb.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3802"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hearingsb.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3802"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}