Determining hearing loss is more complex than it might at first seem. If you’re dealing with hearing loss, you can probably hear certain things clearly at a lower volume, but not others. You may confuse certain letters like “S” or “B”, but hear other letters perfectly fine at any volume. When you figure out how to interpret your hearing test it becomes clearer why your hearing seems “inconsistent”. That’s because there’s more to hearing than simply turning up the volume.
How do I understand the results of my audiogram?
An audiogram is a type of hearing test that hearing professionals utilize to ascertain how you hear. It won’t look as simple as a scale from one to ten. (Wouldn’t it be great if it did!)
Many people find the graph format challenging at first. But if you are aware of what you’re looking at, you too can understand the results of your audiogram.
Looking at volume on an audiogram
The volume in Decibels is detailed on the left side of the graph (from 0 dB to about 120 dB). The higher the number, the louder the sound needs to be for you to hear it.
If you’re unable to hear any sound until it reaches around 30 dB then you’re dealing with mild hearing loss which is a loss of sound between 26 and 45 dB. If hearing starts at 45-65 dB then you’re dealing with moderate hearing loss. Hearing loss is severe if your hearing begins at 66-85 dB. 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 have profound hearing loss.
Examining frequency on a audiogram
Volume’s not the only thing you hear. You hear sound at different frequencies, commonly known as pitches in music. Frequencies help you distinguish between types of sounds, including the letters of the alphabet.
On the lower section of the chart, you’ll usually see frequencies that a human ear can hear, starting from a low frequency of 125 (lower than a bullfrog) to a high frequency of 8000 (higher than a cricket)
This test will let us define how well you can hear within a span of wavelengths.
So, for instance, 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 a raised, but not yelling, voice). The volume that the sound must reach for you to hear each frequency varies and will be plotted on the graph.
Is it significant to measure both frequency and volume?
Now that you understand how to read your audiogram, let’s look at what those results may mean for you in the real world. High-frequency hearing loss, which is a very common form of loss would make it more difficult to hear or understand:
- “F”, “H”, “S”
- Music
- Beeps, dings, and timers
- Birds
- Women and children who tend to have higher-pitched voices
- Whispers, even if hearing volume is good
While a person with high-frequency hearing loss has more difficulty with high-frequency sounds, certain frequencies may seem easier to hear than others.
Within the inner ear tiny stereocilia (hair-like cells) vibrate in response to sound waves. If the cells that pick up a certain frequency become damaged and ultimately die, you lose your ability to hear that frequency at lower volumes. You will totally lose your ability to hear any frequencies that have lost all of the corresponding hair cells.
This type of hearing loss can make some interactions with loved ones extremely aggravating. Your family members might think they have to yell at you in order to be heard even though you only have difficulty hearing particular frequencies. In addition, those with this type of hearing impairment find background sound overpowers louder, higher-frequency sounds such as your sister talking to you in a restaurant.
We can utilize the hearing test to individualize hearing solutions
When we can understand which frequencies you don’t hear well or at all, we can program a hearing aid to meet each ear’s distinct hearing profile. In modern digital hearing aids, if a frequency enters the hearing aid’s microphone, the hearing aid instantly knows whether you can hear that frequency. It can then make that frequency louder so you’re able to hear it. Or it can make use of its frequency compression feature to adjust the frequency to one you can better hear. They also have features that can make processing background sound less difficult.
This creates a smoother more natural hearing experience for the hearing aid user because instead of just making everything louder, it’s meeting your personal hearing needs.
Make an appointment for a hearing test today if you think you might be dealing with hearing loss. We can help.
