I can hear, just not clearly. Do I have hearing loss? What's the number one complaint hearing care professionals hear from their new patients with hearing loss? Ask them and they'll likely say it's, "I can hear but I can't understand." If this is what you're experiencing, you may wonder if you have a hearing loss. Don't miss another chance to connect with those you love! Hearing loss is complicated because it involves not only the ears, but also the brain where sound is translated into meaningful words. It can manifest in many different ways with symptoms that vary between individuals. Hearing loss comes in all degrees from mild to profound. When you think of hearing loss, severe hearing loss or deafness probably comes to mind. But mild, moderate and high frequency hearing losses are actually much more common. And, with these types of hearing losses, the only symptom may be difficulty with word understanding, especially in situations where there is competing noise. Hearing vs. understanding When your hearing is tested, the results are plotted on an audiogram. People with high frequency hearing losses are said to have a "sloping" hearing loss. If you have a sloping hearing loss, it means you are able to hear low-pitched sounds, those below 1000 Hz, very well, sometimes even as well as someone with normal hearing. But, the high-pitched sounds above 1000 Hz need to be much louder before you can hear them. While not always the case, high frequency hearing loss is often the...