It may seem, initially, like measuring hearing loss would be simple. If you’re dealing with hearing loss, you can probably hear certain things clearly at a lower volume, but not others. The majority of letters might sound clear at any volume but others, such as “s” and “b” could get lost. It will become more apparent why you have inconsistencies with your hearing when you learn how to interpret your hearing test. Because simply turning up the volume isn’t enough.
How do I read the results of my audiogram?
Hearing professionals will be able to determine the state of your hearing by making use of this type of hearing test. It would be wonderful if it looked as simple as a scale from one to ten, but unfortunately, that’s not the situation.
Many individuals find the graph format confusing at first. But if you understand what you’re looking at, you too can understand the results of your audiogram.
Examining volume on a hearing test
Along the left side of the graph is the volume in Decibels (dB) from 0 (silent) to around 120 (thunder). This number will define how loud a sound needs to be for you to be capable of hearing it. Higher numbers signify that in order for you to hear it, you will require louder sound.
A loss of volume between 26 dB and 45 dB signifies mild hearing loss. You’re dealing with moderate hearing loss if your hearing begins at 45-65 dB. Hearing loss is severe if your hearing starts at 66-85 dB. Profound hearing loss means that you’re unable to hear until the volume gets up to 90 dB or more, which is louder than a lawnmower.
The frequency section of your hearing test
You hear other things besides volume too. You hear sound at varied frequencies, commonly called pitches in music. Different types of sounds, including letters of the alphabet, are differentiated by frequency or pitch.
Along the bottom of the chart, you’ll generally find frequencies that a human ear can detect, going from a low frequency of 125 (lower than a bullfrog) to a high frequency of 8000 (higher than a cricket)
This test will allow us to ascertain how well you can hear within a range of wavelengths.
So if you have hearing loss in the higher wavelengths, you might need the volume of high frequency sounds to be as high as 60 dB (the volume of somebody talking at a raised volume). The chart will plot the volumes that the various frequencies will need to reach before you can hear them.
Is it significant to track both frequency and volume?
Now that you know how to read your audiogram, let’s take a look at what those results might mean for you in the real world. High-frequency hearing loss, which is a quite common type of loss would make it more difficult to hear or comprehend:
- Whispers, even if hearing volume is good
- Music
- Higher pitched voices like women and children tend to have
- Beeps, dings, and timers
- “F”, “H”, “S”
- Birds
Certain particular frequencies may be more difficult for someone with high frequency hearing loss to hear, even in the higher frequency range.
Inside of the inner ear little stereocilia (hair-like cells) move in response to sound waves. If the cells that pick up a specific frequency become damaged and ultimately die, you lose your ability to hear that frequency at lower volumes. If all of the cells that pick up that frequency are damaged, then you completely lose your ability to hear that frequency even at higher volumes.
This kind of hearing loss can make some communications with loved ones very frustrating. Your family members might think they need to yell at you in order to be heard even though you only have difficulty hearing certain frequencies. And higher frequency sounds, such as your sister talking to you, often get drowned out by background noise for people who have this type of hearing loss.
We can utilize the hearing test to individualize hearing solutions
When we are able to understand which frequencies you don’t hear well or at all, we can program a hearing aid to meet each ear’s unique hearing profile. Contemporary hearing aids have the ability to recognize exactly what frequencies go into the microphone. It can then raise the volume on that frequency so you’re able to hear it. Or it can make use of its frequency compression feature to change the frequency to one you can better hear. They also have functions that can make processing background sound less difficult.
Modern hearing aids are fine tuned to target your specific hearing requirements instead of just turning up the volume on all frequencies, which creates a smoother hearing experience.
If you think you might be experiencing hearing loss, contact us and we can help.
