Measuring hearing loss is more complex than it may at first seem. If you’re suffering from hearing loss, you can most likely hear certain things clearly at a lower volume, but not others. You might confuse certain letters like “S” or “B”, but hear other letters perfectly fine at any volume. It will become more obvious why you notice inconsistencies with your hearing when you figure out how to read your hearing test. Because simply turning up the volume isn’t enough.
How do I understand the results of my audiogram?
An audiogram is a type of hearing test that hearing professionals use to ascertain how you hear. It would be terrific if it looked as basic as a scale from one to ten, but unfortunately, that’s not the situation.
Instead, it’s written on a graph, and that’s why many find it perplexing. But if you know what you’re looking at, you too can understand the results of your audiogram.
Examining volume on an audiogram
The volume in Decibels is listed on the left side of the graph (from 0 dB to about 120 dB). The higher the number, the louder the sound must be for you to be able to hear it.
If you’re unable to hear any sound until it is around 30 dB then you have mild hearing loss which is a loss of volume between 26 and 45 dB. If hearing starts at 45-65 dB then you’re dealing with moderate hearing loss. If you start hearing at between 66 and 85 dB then it indicates you’re dealing with severe hearing loss. If you can’t hear sound until it gets up to 90 dB or more (louder than the volume of a running lawnmower), it means that you’re dealing with profound hearing loss.
The frequency section of your hearing test
You hear other things besides volume also. You can also hear different frequencies or pitches of sound. Frequencies help you differentiate between types of sounds, including the letters of the alphabet.
Frequencies which a human ear can hear, ranging from 125 (lower than a bullfrog) to 8000 (higher than a cricket), are usually listed along the bottom of the chart.
This test will let us figure out how well you can hear within a range of wavelengths.
So, for illustration, if you’re dealing with high-frequency hearing loss, in order for you to hear a high-frequency sound it may have to be at least 60 dB (which is about the volume of an elevated, but not yelling, voice). The graph will plot the volumes that the different frequencies will have to reach before you’re able to hear them.
Is it significant to measure both frequency and volume?
Now that you understand how to interpret your audiogram, let’s take a look at what those results may mean for you in real life. Here are a few sounds that would be more difficult to hear if you have the very prevalent form of high frequency hearing loss:
- Whispers, even if hearing volume is good
- Women and children who tend to have higher-pitched voices
- Music
- Beeps, dings, and timers
- Birds
- “F”, “H”, “S”
Some specific frequencies may be more challenging for somebody with high frequency hearing loss to hear, even in the higher frequency range.
Within the inner ear little stereocilia (hair-like cells) vibrate in response to sound waves. You lose the ability to hear in any frequencies which the corresponding hair cells that detect those frequencies have become damaged and died. If all of the cells that detect that frequency are damaged, then you totally lose your ability to hear that frequency regardless of volume.
Interacting with others can become really frustrating if you’re dealing with this kind of hearing loss. Your family members could think they have to yell at you in order to be heard even though you only have trouble hearing certain frequencies. In addition, those who have this type of hearing loss find background sound overshadows louder, higher-frequency sounds like your sister speaking to you in a restaurant.
Hearing solution can be individualized by a hearing professional by using a hearing test
We will be able to custom tune a hearing aid for your particular hearing requirements once we’re able to understand which frequencies you’re having trouble hearing. In modern digital hearing aids, if a frequency goes into the hearing aid’s microphone, the hearing aid automatically knows whether you’re able to hear that frequency. The hearing aid can be fine tuned to boost whatever frequency you’re having trouble hearing. Or it can use its frequency compression feature to adjust the frequency to one you can hear better. They also have functions that can make processing background sound less difficult.
This delivers a smoother more natural hearing experience for the hearing aid user because rather than just making everything louder, it’s meeting your personal hearing needs.
Schedule an appointment for a hearing exam today if you think you might be suffering from hearing loss. We can help.
