Causes

• Sensorineural hearing loss accounts for 90 percent of hearing loss. It can be caused by old age, genetics, some medicines, diseases or trauma to the ear (loud noise).
  
  

Effects

• Most people with sensorineural hearing loss lose the ability to hear the higher frequencies. That means that they cannot hear high notes, but can still hear low notes.
  
  

Speech

• Consonant sounds are in the higher frequencies, and vowel sounds are usually in the mid to lower frequencies, depending upon the voice of the speaker. People with high frequency hearing loss have difficulty understanding speech because they do not hear consonants.
  
  

Hearing Aids

• Many digital hearing aids can be programmed to amplify the frequencies that the wearer does not hear naturally. This gives hard of hearing people the ability to converse in noisy environments, such as parties and restaurants.
  
  

Types

• Hearing aids are designed to be worn either in the ear or behind the ear. "In the Ear" types come in different sizes, the smallest sits furthest inside the ear canal. "Behind the Ear" types have a casing that rests behind the ear (where eyeglass handles sit) and a microphone is in that case. A tube runs from the casing into the ear canal. The speaker is on the end of the tube.