Which frequency range is most often affected by age-related hearing loss?

Age-related hearing loss, also known as presbycusis, most frequently affects higher frequencies. This type of hearing loss typically begins with a gradual decline in the ability to hear sounds above a certain frequency threshold, often starting at around 2000 Hz or higher.

The damage to the hair cells in the cochlea that leads to this loss is more significant in the higher frequency regions due to natural aging processes, noise exposure over a lifetime, or other environmental factors. Consequently, individuals may struggle to hear sounds like high-pitched voices, certain consonants, and other high-frequency noises, which are essential for understanding speech.

In contrast, low and mid frequencies are typically preserved longer, so while older adults may experience some difficulty across all frequencies as their hearing deteriorates, it is the higher frequencies that show the most pronounced loss. The even distribution of hearing loss across all frequencies, as suggested in some other choices, is not a characteristic of age-related hearing loss, which is usually more selective.