I Can Hear but Don’t Understand

I am a member of the SaddleBrooke Hearing Discussion Group. Our group meets at 10 AM on the second Friday of every month in the Sonoran Room at the Mountain View Clubhouse. In this month’s article I would like to discuss why you can hear people talking but may not be able to understand them. 

One of the most common hearing loss types is high-frequency hearing loss. This kind of hearing loss can be caused by aging, noise damage or certain disease processes such as Meniere’s Disease that I have. Being able to hear but not understand is a common sign of mild hearing loss. Being able to hear high-frequency sounds is very important for understanding human speech. When you can't, it will seem like everyone, including those dear to you, is mumbling or talking too quietly. The voices of female speakers as well as children tend to be more high-pitched, so you might find these individuals harder to understand than you do male speakers. Similarly, you might find people with strong accents harder to hear as well as having difficulties understanding speech in background noise. I know that prior to getting my latest hearing devices it was very difficult for me to understand our landscapers. 

While you might think the problem isn't disruptive enough to warrant a visit to an audiologist, but it's a common early sign of high-frequency hearing loss. This type of hearing loss makes it harder to hear higher-pitched sounds. In speech, the vowel sounds (A, E, I, O and U) are low in pitch but consonant sounds like S, F, Th, Sh, V, K, P and others are high in pitch. Being able to hear vowel sounds is helpful, but it’s the consonant sounds that help you distinguish one word from another. Vowel sounds help alert you that speech is present. But it’s the consonant sounds that give speech meaning by distinguishing one word from another. 

Without being able to hear subtle differences between consonants, words like “cat” and “hat,” “parrot” and “ferret” and “show” and “throw” can be hard to tell apart. You also confuse a statement such as “What time is it?” with “What kind is it?”. This difficulty in understanding what is being said makes life less enjoyable and more frustrating. 

If after visiting an audiologist your test results indicate that you do have some degree of hearing loss, it may be recommended that you get fitted for hearing aids. Hearing aids amplify high-frequency sounds to the necessary volume, making conversations clearer and easier to follow. If you are fitted with hearing aids, be sure to wear them every day. 

If you have questions or would like to discuss this topic further, I invite you to attend one of our monthly meetings. We oftentimes have a student audiologist from the University of Arizona join us at our meetings. You can contact me at tgaule@outlook.com.