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Significance Understanding speech in noisy environments is an essential communication skill that varies widely between individuals and is poorly understood. We show here that extended high-frequency (EHF) hearing, beyond the currently tested range of clinical audiometry, contributes to speech perception in noise. EHF hearing loss is common in otherwise normally hearing young adults and predicts self-reported difficulty hearing speech in noise. The data suggest that EHF hearing is a long sought missing link between audiometry and speech perception and may be a sensitive predictor of age-related hearing loss much earlier in life when preventive measures can be effectively deployed.
Zadeh et al. (Mon,) studied this question.