Hearing Loss Simulator

What Does Hearing Loss Sound Like?

Hearing loss does not simply make sounds quieter. It selectively removes certain frequencies, distorting the balance of sound that your brain relies on to understand speech and recognize the world around you. High-frequency hearing loss, the most common type, strips away consonant sounds like "s", "f", "th", and "sh" while leaving vowel sounds relatively intact. The result is speech that sounds muffled or unclear, as if people are mumbling, even when they are speaking normally.

In noisy environments, the effect is dramatically worse. A person with hearing loss cannot separate the weakened speech signal from background noise the way a normal-hearing listener can. Restaurants, family gatherings, and busy streets become exhausting as the brain works harder to piece together fragmented sound. This listening fatigue is one of the most underappreciated consequences of hearing loss.

Types of Hearing Loss

Hearing loss takes different shapes depending on its cause. High-frequency sloping loss (presbycusis) is the most common pattern and results from aging. It spares the low frequencies but progressively removes higher sounds, making birdsong, children's voices, and consonants the first casualties. Noise-induced hearing loss creates a characteristic notch at 4000 Hz, often accompanied by tinnitus. This pattern is strongly associated with exposure to loud music, power tools, firearms, and industrial noise.

Low-frequency loss, often seen in Meniere's disease, affects bass tones and creates a "hollow" or "tinny" quality to sound. Cookie-bite loss targets the mid-frequencies, affecting the speech range directly. Ski-slope loss represents a steep, dramatic drop in high-frequency hearing. Each pattern creates a distinct perceptual experience, which is why this simulator offers multiple profiles for comparison.

How Does Hearing Change with Age?

Age-related hearing loss (presbycusis) is nearly universal. By age 60, most people have measurable hearing loss, particularly at high frequencies. The ISO 7029 standard documents this decline statistically: at 4000 Hz, the median 60-year-old male has 24 dB of hearing loss, and by age 80 that reaches 47 dB. Women are affected somewhat less severely at high frequencies but still experience significant age-related decline.

The decline accelerates with age, and noise exposure throughout life compounds the effect. A 40-year-old with a history of loud concerts and earbuds at high volume will follow a steeper decline curve than someone who has protected their hearing. Our Projected Hearing Loss tool lets you visualize this trajectory and hear what your future hearing may sound like.

Living with Tinnitus and Hearing Loss

Tinnitus, the perception of ringing, buzzing, or hissing in the ears, affects approximately 15-20% of people and frequently accompanies hearing loss. When the brain loses input at certain frequencies due to damaged hair cells, it may generate phantom sounds to fill the gap. This makes hearing loss a doubly challenging condition: not only is external sound degraded, but an internal sound that cannot be turned off is layered on top.

Our simulator's tinnitus overlay feature lets normal-hearing listeners experience this combination. It is designed as an empathy tool: show your family what you hear every day. AudioNotch provides personalized notched sound therapy that targets your specific tinnitus frequency to help reduce its perceived loudness over time.

Frequently Asked Questions