Determining hearing loss is more complex than it might seem at first. You can most likely hear certain things clearly at lower volumes but not others. Most letters may sound clear at any volume but others, such as “s” and “b” could get lost. It will become more obvious why you notice inconsistencies with your hearing when you figure out how to read your hearing test. That’s because there’s more to hearing than just cranking up the volume.
How do I read the results of my audiogram?
An audiogram is a type of hearing test that hearing professionals utilize to ascertain how you hear. It would be wonderful if it looked as basic as a scale from one to ten, but unfortunately, that’s not the situation.
Instead, it’s printed on a graph, and that’s why many people find it perplexing. But if you know what you’re looking at, you too can interpret the results of your audiogram.
Examining volume on an audiogram
The volume in Decibels is detailed on the left side of the chart (from 0 dB to about 120 dB). This number will determine how loud a sound needs to be for you to be able to hear it. Higher numbers mean that in order for you to hear it, you will need louder sound.
A loss of volume between 26 dB and 45 dB indicates mild hearing loss. If hearing starts at 45-65 dB then you have moderate hearing loss. If you begin 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 reaches 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
Volume’s not the only thing you hear. You hear sound at varied frequencies, commonly known as pitches in music. Frequencies allow you to distinguish between types of sounds, and this includes the letters of the alphabet.
On the bottom of the chart, you’ll typically see frequencies that a human ear can hear, starting 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 determine how well you can hear within a range of frequencies.
So if you have hearing loss in the higher wavelengths, you may need the volume of high frequency sounds to be as loud as 60 dB (the volume of someone talking at an elevated volume). The graph will plot the volumes that the different frequencies will have to reach before you can hear them.
Why measuring both volume and frequency is so important
So in real life, what might the outcome of this test mean for you? Here are a few sounds that would be more difficult to hear if you have the very common form of high frequency hearing loss:
- Whispers, even if hearing volume is good
- “F”, “H”, “S”
- Birds
- Higher pitched voices like women and children tend to have
- Music
- Beeps, dings, and timers
While somebody who has high-frequency hearing loss has more difficulty with high-frequency sounds, some frequencies might seem easier to hear than others.
Within the inner ear tiny stereocilia (hair-like cells) shake in response to sound waves. You lose the ability to hear in whatever frequencies which the corresponding hair cells that pick up those frequencies have become damaged and have died. You will totally lose your ability to hear any frequencies that have lost all of the related hair cells.
This type of hearing loss can make some communications with loved ones extremely aggravating. You might have difficulty only hearing certain frequencies, but your family members may assume they need to yell to be heard at all. On top of that, those with this type of hearing loss find background sound overshadows louder, higher-frequency sounds such as your sister talking to you in a restaurant.
We can use the hearing test to individualize hearing solutions
When we are able to understand which frequencies you cannot hear well or at all, we can program a hearing aid to meet each ear’s unique hearing profile. In modern digital hearing aids, if a frequency enters the hearing aid’s microphone, the hearing aid automatically knows whether you can hear that frequency. The hearing aid can be programmed to boost whatever frequency you’re having trouble hearing. Or it can make use of its frequency compression feature to alter the frequency to one you can better hear. They also have features that can make processing background sound less difficult.
This produces a smoother more normal hearing experience for the hearing aid wearer because rather than simply making everything louder, it’s meeting your unique hearing needs.
Schedule an appointment for a hearing test right away if you think you might be dealing with hearing loss. We can help.