Reading an Audiogram can seem complex but once you know the basics it's quite simple.
Let's take a look at the various parts of the Audiogram.
First, let's look at it from top to bottom.
The Audiogram measures intensity or loudness from 0 to 120 decibels.
Running from left to right, is frequency or pitch which is measured in Hertz.
The frequency starts of the left with 250 Hertz and goes up to 8000 Hertz on the right side.
This is just like a piano keyboard that has the lowest frequencies on the left and the highest frequencies on the right.
On a typical Audiogram you will also see two lines, one red and one blue.
The red line represents the hearing in your right ear and the blue line represents hearing in your left ear.
If your Audiogram does not have colours then the line with the X represents your left ear.
The line with the circle represents your right ear.
Let's take a moment to focus on loudness which runs from top to bottom and is measured in decibels.
If your hearing is normal you should see an X or a circle that falls into the 0-20 decibel range.
If you have mild hearing loss, you will see the X or the circle in the 20-40 decibel range.
Moderate hearing loss will be marked in the 40-70 decibel range.
If you have severe hearing loss the X or circle will fall in the 70-90 decibel range.
If your hearing loss is profound you will see the mark in the 90-120 decibel range.
Now let's look at the frequency which runs from left to right.
Vowels such as A,E,I,O and U, are the lowest pitch and fall towards the left side of the hearing range.
Consonants such as S,T,F and Sh are higher pitched and fall towards the right side of the hearing range.
Often, these higher frequencies are associated with women's voices.
This section of the Audiogram is commonly called the "Speech Zone" because most human voices are within this range.
Now that we know what the various parts of the Audiogram are, let's take a look at a few examples.
In our first example you will notice that this person has hearing that falls into the normal range.
At 2000 Hertz their hearing starts to move into mild hearing loss.
This is more so for the left ear.
At 4000 Hertz there is a big difference and their hearing is now in the moderate hearing loss category.
At 8000 Hertz this person's hearing falls into the severe hearing loss category.
In this next example the person's hearing falls regularly within the mild hearing loss category except at 4000 Hertz where it drops to moderate hearing loss.
Congratulations, you now know how to read an Audiogram.
In our next video we will show you how to compare your Audiogram to the fitting range for each hearing aid.
This will help you make an informed decision about the hearing aid that is right for you.