What does Abby’s loss sound like?

This video is a great way to understand Abigail’s hearing loss. The first time I saw this I cried because it made Abby’s loss real to me. I finally understood what life for her would be like without her aids. While her hearing aids will help her greatly in understanding and developing speech, she will still struggle. It will be hard for her to understand you unless you are talking in front of her; in a crowded room that is noisy it will be almost impossible for her to distinguish your voice from the other noises in the room and she will have to work very hard and train her ears to hear the difference between the highest frequency sounds such as “s” and “sh.”

As you watch this video you will see the audiogram in the lower right hand corner shift from mild loss to moderate loss to severe loss. Abigail has severe (65-75 dB loss) bilateral (both ears) sensorineural (nerve damage) hearing loss and this is what we sound like to her.