Mid-frequency Hearing Loss

The "invisible" nature of mid-frequency hearing loss:

Mid-frequency hearing loss affects the most important frequency range in the human voice (500Hz-4000Hz). Therefore, unlike high-frequency hearing loss, which makes people unable to hear high pitches, it makes people feel that the voice is muffled and difficult to understand, especially in a noisy environment.

This makes it easy for people to be misdiagnosed as other problems, such as inattention or simply hearing loss caused by aging.
Specific manifestations of mid-frequency hearing loss:

Unlike high-frequency hearing loss, the symptoms of mid-frequency hearing loss focus more on difficulties in speech comprehension rather than simply not being able to hear certain sounds.

Here are some more specific manifestations:

(1) Difficulty in understanding speech, especially in a noisy environment.

This is similar to high-frequency hearing loss, but mid-frequency hearing loss focuses more on difficulties in understanding key syllables and words in speech. For example, you may understand what the speaker is saying, but you cannot understand the specific meaning, or it sounds like the other party is mumbling and hesitating. This difficulty is significantly exacerbated in noisy environments (such as restaurants and conference rooms) because background noise can mask important mid-frequency sounds

(2) Difficulty distinguishing similar speech sounds.

Mid-frequency hearing loss may make it difficult for you to distinguish words that sound similar. This can lead to communication misunderstandings, especially when listening to instructions or having important conversations.

(3) The need to repeatedly ask the other party to repeat themselves.

This is a common manifestation of people with mid-frequency hearing loss. The hearing-impaired may often ask the other party to repeat what they have said, even in a relatively quiet environment.

(4) Different sensitivity to male and female voices.

Although the frequency range of male and female voices includes mid-frequency, female voices generally contain more high-frequency components. People with mid-frequency hearing loss may understand male voices relatively well, but have difficulty understanding female voices and children's voices.

(5) Reduced perception of speech rhythm and intonation.

The mid-frequency range also contains rhythm and intonation information in speech. Mid-frequency loss may make it difficult for people to perceive the speaker's emotions or tone, leading to communication barriers.

(6) Symptoms worsen after fatigue.

Symptoms of mid-frequency hearing loss may be more noticeable when you are tired or sick.

(7) Difficulty understanding conversations on TV or radio.

Even if you turn up the volume, you may have difficulty understanding conversations on TV or radio, especially when there are multiple people talking or a lot of background music.