For me, the results were that I have hearing ability on-par with a ~5 year old, and they only see adults like me every 18 months or so. I've got a printoff of the chart around here somewhere, but it's well outside the normal, especially for my activities.
On the flipside, I'm very ADHD, which I think hurts my loud-space conversational abilities some. I always figure my ears are trying to listen to all of it at once.
(Most lightbulbs and televisions drive me up a wall, because I can hear them all the time)
As a kid I always used to take the batteries out of clocks when I would sleep at other peoples houses on a couch or something but since becoming an adult around 29 I gained a little more mental control so I can deal with that stuff a little better.
OTOH, unplugging those devices saves you energy.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Switched-mode_power_supply
"The operating frequency of an unloaded SMPS is sometimes in the audible human range, and may sound subjectively quite loud for people whose hearing is very sensitive to the relevant frequency range."
Even analog power supplies will generate a 50/60hz hum (depending on what the power-lines are providing)
Bonus: I leveraged it into the ability to emit (by sort-of-whistling with the tip of my tongue against my palate) sounds in the same frequency range (which has provided many hours of amusement over the years).
Oh, and this age-related degradation of hearing in the upper registers is also the basis of a few interesting things, like devices that discourage teens from loitering[1], and apps that allow teens to communicate under the noses of adults[2].
[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Mosquito
[2] http://www.psfk.com/2015/09/high-frequency-app-text-ringtone...
Yet when I am in noisy environments I often am much less adept at figuring out what people are saying than others.
Are these two things related?
Interestingly it's pitched above the range of my tinnitus so I get to hear both most of the time :/
Summer here is my favorite time of year for that reason - the insect noise gets so loud at night, and falls right into the range of the tinnitus and e-noise such that it completely obscures them. It's almost like those sounds aren't there for a few months every year.
On the other hand, you probably don't want the tinnitus that often comes with noise-induced hearing loss. Better to be able to turn off the noise (or wear earplugs) than to hear it all the time.
[1] https://www.reddit.com/r/askscience/comments/1tepwv/why_is_t...
When I wear earplugs I can understand conversations better. Like many others in this thread, I have uncommonly good hearing but find it difficult to hear any conversation in a loud environment.
On a related note, this is why people talking during movies is so infuriating for me: while they're talking the movie is basically turned off for me.
I'd definitely pony up for a pair from Bose. Their headphones don't impress me in the outright SQ department, but they have the best noise cancellation tech I've heard.
Can you elaborate on this? Is this good? Does that age correspond with undamaged hearing?
Same. I'm also pretty sure that extreme difficulty sifting through conversations in noisy environments is a symptom.
Has been like this forever and have never had any (other) problems with my hearing.
Bar type conversations usually have me decoding people's facial expressions and nodding or grimacing at the right times.
