Hearing Test Results

Your audiogram

The outcome of the comprehensive hearing evaluation is a chart of your hearing called an audiogram. Your audiogram is a record of the softest sounds you heard during your hearing test (at least half the time, otherwise known as your thresholds) in each ear. An example of an audiogram is shown below.

Loudness is measured in decibels hearing level (dB HL). It is represented on the vertical axis of the audiogram, from approximately 0 dB HL (very soft) to 110 dB HL (very loud).

Frequency or pitch is measured in Hertz (Hz.) It is represented on the horizontal axis of the audiogram, from 250Hz (very low pitch) to 8000 Hz (very high pitch).

The degree of hearing loss is based on the audiometric thresholds, and ranges from least to most severity in this order: mild, moderate, moderately-severe, severe and profound.

The right ear thresholds are recorded on the audiogram as a O or a Δ (circle or a triangle) and the left ear thresholds are represented by X or a □ (X or a square).

The audiogram below has thresholds for the right and left ears recorded. In this case, all thresholds fall within the normal hearing range (0 - 25 dB HL on the vertical axis).

Notice that hearing thresholds are not always exactly the same in each ear for each frequency, even when hearing is normal as in the audiogram shown above.  This is also common with hearing loss. The most common type of hearing loss is high-frequency hearing loss. With high-frequency hearing loss, there is a milder hearing loss (or even normal hearing) for low-frequency sounds and a greater degree of hearing loss in the higher frequencies. An example is shown in the audiogram below of a mild to moderately-severe, high-frequency hearing loss.

Type of Hearing Loss

The type of hearing loss – conductive, sensorineural, or mixed – can be determined by comparing testing done with earphones and testing done with a special bone oscillator headband.

Recommendations

Following the comprehensive hearing evaluation, recommendations may be made for further testing, referral, and/or treatment. You’ll be referred to a physician for evaluation and treatment if an underlying medical condition is suspected, or if hearing aids are recommended, for medical clearance. In most cases of hearing loss, (including nearly 95% of sensorineural hearing losses), hearing aids or cochlear implants are the treatment of choice.