Audiograms

How to read them and what they are.

Terms to know:• Audiogram

An audiogram is a means of recording the results of a hearing test. It will include a table and a graph for each ear showing how well you could hear sounds at various frequencies. This graph dominates the audiogram and measures the lowest volume that you can hear pure tone signals at different frequencies for each ear.

Terms cont.• Audiologist

Health care professional who is trained to evaluate hearing loss and related disorders, including balance (vestibular) disorders and tinnitus, and to rehabilitate individuals with hearing loss and related disorders. An audiologist uses a variety of tests and procedures to assess hearing and balance function and to fit and dispense hearing aids and other assistive devices for hearing.

Terms cont.

• Decibel (dB)A unit of measurement indicating loudness, based on a logarithmic scale. Sound scales are based on either sound pressure level (dB SPL) or hearing level (dB HL).

• Outer EarThe outer most portion of the ear encompassing the pinna and ear canal.

• Middle EarThe center section of the ear encompassing the area past the ear drum through the bones of the ear to the cochlea.

• Inner EarThe section of the ear that encompasses the cochlea, hair cells and hearing nerve to the brain. If a person has a sensorineural hearing loss, the problem occurs in the inner ear.

• Postlingually DeafenedIndividual who becomes deaf after having acquired language.

Prelingually DeafenedIndividual who is either born deaf or who lost his or her hearing early in childhood, before acquiring language.

VocabularyVocabulary• Audiogram - A record of a

person’s pure-tone hearing threshold levels

• Threshold – A level of sound that a person can detect 50% of the time or more

• Audiometric Zero – sensitivity of normal, young adults

Reading audiogram

Hearing person’s audiogram

Degrees of Hearing LossDegrees of Hearing Loss

• Normal Hearing -10 - 25 dB HL • Mild Hearing Loss 30 - 45 dB HL• Moderate Hearing Loss 50 - 65 dB HL • Severe Hearing Loss 70 - 85 dB HL• Profound Hearing Loss > 90 dB HL

Jobs

• Speech-Language PathologistHealth professional trained to evaluate and treat people who have voice, speech, language, or swallowing disorders (including hearing impairment) that affect their ability to communicate.

Jobs cont.

• OtologistPhysician/surgeon who specializes in diseases of the ear.

Jobs cont.

• OtolaryngologistPhysician/surgeon who specializes in diseases of the ears, nose, throat, and head and neck.

• Audiologist