Speech banana

The speech banana is a banana-shaped region where the sounds of human languages appear on an audiogram.
Audiologists are primarily concerned with hearing loss that occurs within the speech banana because:

In children, it can slow the development of speech and comprehension, and that in turn can profoundly interfere with learning.
In adults, it can hinder communication, which can cause social isolation and may be a risk factor for dementia. Hearing loss is most common in older adults.

People with normal hearing can also hear sounds outside of the speech banana, including both lower-pitched sounds and higher-pitched sounds.