It might seem, at first, like measuring hearing loss would be simple. You can most likely hear certain things clearly at lower volumes but not others. You might confuse particular letters like “S” or “B”, but hear other letters perfectly fine at any volume. It will become more obvious why you have inconsistencies with your hearing when you learn how to read your hearing test. Because merely turning up the volume isn’t enough.
When I get my audiogram, how do I decipher it?
Hearing professionals will be able to determine the condition of your hearing by using this type of hearing test. It would be wonderful if it looked as simple as a scale from one to ten, but regrettably, that isn’t the situation.
Rather, it’s printed on a graph, and that’s why many individuals find it perplexing. But you too can interpret a hearing test if you’re aware of what you’re looking at.
Interpreting the volume section of your hearing test
The volume in Decibels is outlined on the left side of the graph (from 0 dB to around 120 dB). The higher the number, the louder the sound needs to be for you to hear it.
If you can’t hear any sound until it reaches about 30 dB then you’re dealing with mild hearing loss which is a loss of sound between 26 and 45 dB. If hearing begins at 45-65 dB then you’re dealing with moderate hearing loss. If you begin hearing at between 66 and 85 dB then it indicates you have severe hearing loss. If you are unable to 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.
Examining frequency on a 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 that a human ear can hear, ranging from 125 (lower than a bullfrog) to 8000 (higher than a cricket), are normally listed along the lower section of the graph.
We will test how well you hear frequencies in between and can then plot them on the graph.
So, for instance, if you’re dealing with high-frequency hearing loss, in order for you to hear a high-frequency sound it might 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 various frequencies will need to reach before you’re able to hear them.
Why measuring both volume and frequency is so important
So in real life, what could the results of this test mean for you? Here are some sounds that would be harder to hear if you have the very common form of high frequency hearing loss:
- Birds
- Higher pitched voices like women and children tend to have
- Beeps, dings, and timers
- “F”, “H”, “S”
- Music
- Whispers, even if hearing volume is good
While somebody with high-frequency hearing loss has more difficulty with high-frequency sounds, some frequencies may seem easier to hear than others.
Inside of the inner ear little stereocilia (hair-like cells) move 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. If all of the cells that detect that frequency are damaged, then you completely lose your ability to hear that frequency regardless of volume.
Communicating with others can become really frustrating if you’re dealing with this type 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 certain wavelengths. And higher frequency sounds, like your sister speaking to you, often get drowned out by background noise for individuals with this type of hearing loss.
We can use the hearing test to personalize hearing solutions
When we are able to understand which frequencies you cannot hear well or at all, we can fine tune 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 can hear it. Or it can alter the frequency through frequency compression to a different frequency you can hear. They also have functions that can make processing background sound simpler.
This creates a smoother more natural hearing experience for the hearing aid user because rather than just making everything louder, it’s meeting your unique hearing needs.
If you believe you might be experiencing hearing loss, contact us and we can help.