I can hear people when it's quiet but not when it's noisy. Why?

Reviewed by:
Kent Spence
Published on:
June 22, 2026

As we get older, it’s common to lose some of our high-pitched hearing first. These higher sounds, such as “s”, “f”, “t”, and “th”, are responsible for much of our speech clarity. When those sounds aren’t as clear, words can start to blur together and make us think, "Everyone's mumbling".

High-pitch hearing loss can also make it harder to follow conversations, especially when the person is in another room, has their back turned, or isn’t looking directly at us.  

If this sounds familiar, it’s worth checking your hearing. An Ear360 assessment is designed to give you a full picture of your hearing health and wellbeing, allowing us to have a conversation about what support would improve your quality of life. To book an appointment, call 0800 737 662 or click here.

It’s also worth reading about why accents can be hard to hear and hearing sounds but not speech clearly. You can browse the Hearing Health category page for more.

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I can hear people when it's quiet but not when it's noisy. Why?

Written by:
Kent Spence
Reviewed by:
Kent Spence
Blog length:
 min read
Published:
April 17, 2023
Updated:
June 22, 2026
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Kent
Audiologist

Hi my name is Kent! I’ve been an audiologist in the Waikato since graduating in 2020, and what I love most about my work is bringing the joy of sound back to people.