Determining hearing loss is more complex than it may at first seem. You can most likely hear certain things clearly at lower volumes but not others. You may confuse particular letters like “S” or “B”, but hear other letters perfectly fine at any volume. It will become more apparent why you notice inconsistencies with your hearing when you learn how to interpret your hearing test. That’s because there’s more to hearing than simply turning up the volume.
How do I understand the results of my audiogram?
Hearing professionals will be able to get a read on the condition of your hearing by using this type of hearing test. It would be wonderful if it looked as basic as a scale from one to ten, but unfortunately, that isn’t the case.
Rather, it’s printed on a graph, and that’s why many individuals find it perplexing. But if you are aware of what you’re looking at, you too can understand the results of your audiogram.
Decoding the volume section of your hearing test
Along the left side of the graph is the volume in Decibels (dB) from 0 (silent) to about 120 (thunder). The higher the number, the louder the sound needs to be for you to be able to hear it.
If you’re unable to hear any sound until it reaches 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. 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.
Reading frequency on a hearing test
Volume isn’t the only thing you hear. You hear sound at varied frequencies, commonly known as pitches in music. Different types of sounds, including letters of the alphabet, are distinguished by frequency or pitch.
On the lower section of the chart, you’ll generally find frequencies that a human ear can hear, going from a low frequency of 125 (deeper than a bullfrog) to a high frequency of 8000 (higher than a cricket)
This test will let us ascertain how well you can hear within a span of wavelengths.
So, for example, if you have 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.
Why tracking both volume and frequency is so significant
So in the real world, what could the outcome of this test mean for you? High-frequency hearing loss, which is a very common type of loss would make it more difficult to hear or comprehend:
- Women and children who tend to have higher-pitched voices
- Music
- Whispers, even if hearing volume is good
- Beeps, dings, and timers
- “F”, “H”, “S”
- Birds
While somebody with high-frequency hearing loss has more difficulty with high-frequency sounds, some frequencies might seem easier to hear than others.
Inside of your inner ear you have very small hair-like nerve cells that shake with sounds. You lose the ability to hear in any frequencies which the corresponding hair cells that pick up those frequencies have become damaged and died. You will totally lose your ability to hear any frequencies that have lost all of the related hair cells.
Communicating with others can become extremely frustrating if you’re suffering from 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 difficulty hearing particular wavelengths. And higher frequency sounds, such as your sister talking to you, often get drowned out by background noise for people with this kind of hearing loss.
We can utilize the hearing test to personalize hearing solutions
When we are able to understand which frequencies you don’t hear well or at all, we can fine tune a hearing aid to meet each ear’s distinct hearing profile. Contemporary hearing aids have the ability to know precisely what frequencies enter the microphone. It can then make that frequency louder so you’re able to hear it. Or it can utilize its frequency compression feature to alter the frequency to one you can better hear. Additionally, they can improve your ability to process background noise.
This creates a smoother more natural hearing experience for the hearing aid user because instead of simply making everything louder, it’s meeting your unique hearing needs.
Schedule an appointment for a hearing exam today if you think you might be suffering from hearing loss. We can help.