Determining hearing loss is more complex than it may at first seem. If you’re dealing with hearing loss, you can most likely hear certain things clearly at a lower volume, but not others. You might confuse particular letters like “S” or “B”, but hear other letters perfectly fine at any volume. When you learn how to read your hearing test it becomes clearer why your hearing is “inconsistent”. That’s because there’s more to hearing than simply cranking up the volume.
When I get my audiogram, how do I interpret it?
An audiogram is a type of hearing test that hearing professionals utilize to calculate how you hear. It would be wonderful if it looked as basic as a scale from one to ten, but sadly, that’s not the case.
Many people find the graph format challenging at first. But you too can understand a hearing test if you’re aware of what you’re looking at.
Interpreting the volume portion of your audiogram
The volume in Decibels is detailed on the left side of the chart (from 0 dB to around 120 dB). The higher the number, the louder the sound needs to be for you to be able to hear it.
A loss of volume between 26 dB and 45 dB points to mild hearing loss. If hearing begins 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 reaches 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
You hear other things besides volume too. You can also hear different frequencies or pitches of sound. Frequencies allow you to differentiate between types of sounds, and this includes the letters of the alphabet.
Frequencies which a human ear can hear, from 125 (lower than a bullfrog) to 8000 (higher than a cricket), are normally listed along the lower section of the chart.
We will check how well you’re able to hear frequencies in between and can then diagram them on the chart.
So if you have hearing loss in the higher wavelengths, you may need the volume of high frequency sounds to be as high as 60 dB (the volume of somebody talking at a raised volume). The graph will plot the volumes that the various frequencies will have to reach before you can 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 a few sounds that would be more difficult to hear if you have the very prevalent form of high frequency hearing loss:
- Higher pitched voices like women and children tend to have
- “F”, “H”, “S”
- Music
- Beeps, dings, and timers
- Birds
- Whispers, even if hearing volume is good
Some particular frequencies may be harder for someone with high frequency hearing loss to hear, even in the higher frequency range.
Inside of your inner ear you have very small hair-like nerve cells that shake with sounds. You lose the ability to hear in whatever frequencies which the corresponding hair cells that detect those frequencies have become damaged and died. You will completely lose your ability to hear any frequencies that have lost all of the corresponding hair cells.
Communicating with others can become extremely frustrating if you’re dealing with this kind of hearing loss. You might have trouble only hearing certain frequencies, but your family members may think they need to yell to be heard at all. On top of that, those who have this kind of hearing loss find background sound overshadows louder, higher-frequency sounds such as your sister talking to you in a restaurant.
We can utilize the hearing test to personalize hearing solutions
We will be able to custom program a hearing aid for your specific hearing needs once we’re able to comprehend which frequencies you’re having trouble hearing. Contemporary hearing aids have the ability to recognize exactly what frequencies go into the microphone. The hearing aid can be programmed to boost whatever frequency you’re having difficulty hearing. Or it can alter the frequency through frequency compression to another frequency you can hear. In addition, they can enhance your ability to process background noise.
Modern hearing aids are fine tuned to address your specific hearing needs rather than just turning up the volume on all frequencies, which creates a smoother hearing experience.
Make an appointment for a hearing exam right away if you think you might be suffering from hearing loss. We can help.