How to read
an audiogram
An audiogram shows your hearing ability by showing your hearing at various frequencies. During a hearing test your hearing results are recorded on the audiogram by means of red Os for the right ear and blue Xs for the left one. The resulting red and blue lines show your hearing threshold for each ear at different frequencies.
- The vertical axis of the audiogram represents sound volume or intensity which is measured in decibels (dB). The softest sounds are at the top of the chart and the loudest sounds at the bottom. The more one moves down the axis, the higher the hearing threshold and the worse the hearing.
- The horizontal axis of the audiogram represents sound frequency or pitch measured in Hertz (Hz). Sound frequency increases gradually the further one moves to the right along the axis. The frequencies most often tested are 250, 500, 1000, 2000, 4000 and 8000 Hz.
A hearing threshold of between 0 and 20 dB is considered normal.
| Classification of Hearing Loss | Hearing Threshold |
|---|---|
| Normal hearing | 0 to 20 dB |
| Mild | 21 to 30 dB |
| Moderate | 31 to 55 dB |
| Moderately-severe | 56 to 70 dB |
| Severe | 71 to 90 dB |
| Profound | 91+ dB |
Audio23 by Audiology6 (talk) (Uploads) – Own work. Licensed under Public Domain via Wikipedia.
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