Looking at a bunch of X’s and O’s? That’s not a tic-tac-toe board; it’s your audiogram: a printout of your hearing test results that displays your hearing ability. This grid may look a little confusing at first, so let’s walk through it together.
The Grid
Your results will be plotted on a grid representing the scope of sound audible to humans. The vertical axis represents volume, measured in decibels (dB), with the top representing very quiet and the bottom very loud. The horizontal axis represents frequency, measured in Hertz (Hz), with the left end very low-pitched and the right end very high-pitched.
The Plot Points
On the grid will be a series of plot points. These plot points are your hearing thresholds: they indicate the lowest volume at which you can hear each pitch. For example, if one of the plot points on the grid is at the intersection of 30 dB and 4000 Hz, that means you can hear 4000 Hz sounds starting at 30 dB, but you may struggle to hear sounds of that frequency if they’re any quieter than that.
These plot points will be marked with different symbols. These symbols indicate which ear has that threshold and how it was tested. The most common symbols are:
- O: Right ear, pure-tone hearing test
- X: Left ear, pure-tone hearing test
- < or [: Right ear, bone conduction test
- > or ]: Left ear, bone conduction test
Sometimes, these symbols are in color. Red indicates the right ear and blue indicates the left.
What It All Means
Hearing loss ranges from none to profound, depending on your hearing thresholds. If most of your plot points fall within certain ranges, that determines the severity of your hearing loss. The ranges are:
- -10–14 dB: Healthy hearing
- 15–25 dB: Slight hearing loss
- 26–40 dB: Mild hearing loss
- 41–55 dB: Moderate hearing loss
- 56–70 dB: Moderately severe hearing loss
- 71–90 dB: Severe hearing loss
- 91+ dB: Profound hearing loss
Your audiologist can also examine the lines made by your plot points to determine the type of hearing loss you have. For example, if the line drops off toward the right (high-pitched), it’s probably sensorineural hearing loss, which first loses high-pitched sounds due to damage to the sensory cells in the ear.
Next Steps
Your audiologist will examine all this data—hearing thresholds, differences between the ears, severity and type, as well as other factors—and can then advise on treatment for hearing loss. Often, this includes hearing aids, especially if you have sensorineural hearing loss, which is the most common type of hearing loss.
The best part is that an audiologist can create a personalized hearing loss treatment plan, and they can program your hearing aids to meet your exact hearing needs as plotted out by the audiogram. As an example, let’s return to a sensorineural hearing loss audiogram, with the line dropping off to the right. If your audiogram looks like this, you don’t need the volume turned up on every sound in the world. What you need is amplification of just those higher pitches that you struggle to hear. An audiologist can program and customize your hearing aids to do this.
If you’re ready to get your hearing tested and discuss how hearing loss treatment might look for you, make an appointment with one of our highly specialized audiologists at Bangor Audiology. Call today to get on the calendar.