In most cases of sensorineural hearing loss, we lose the higher tones first. Consonants are in the higher tones. Vowels give speech power and we hear them fairly well. The consonants define the words, so missing them is why we misunderstand. Take a word like impossible and eliminate the consonants. i _ _o _ _i_ _ e Even when you know it's a 'long' word it's likely you won't be able to identify it in print. Here it is with no vowels: _mp_ss_bl_ You might be able to figure that out. It might also help if it was in a sentence or conversation about something being difficult.

Do you know what this word is?
_o_o_ _y_ _ e ? Obviously it would help if you knew the contest of a conversation because it's easier to guess. This is basically what happens when we lose hearing. It happens gradually. How do you do on audiology tests that involve sentences? Sometimes clues matter. sometimes they don't.

The tiny hair cells in the cochlea distinguish these sounds. If those cells are damaged we misunderstand because our brains don't get the signals.

This is where cochlear implants come in as they bypass the damaged cochlea and stimulate the brain directly. You may be a CI candidate. Did your audiologist tell you about cochlear implants?