You have completed your hearing assessment. You have been handed a graph. And now you are wondering… what exactly does this mean?
An audiogram can look technical at first glance. However, once you understand a few key principles, it becomes far easier to interpret.
Let us break it down clearly and simply.
What Is an Audiogram?
An audiogram is a visual map of your hearing sensitivity. It doesn’t tell us how well you process speech or how well you can focus on speech in noisy environments – it’s simply indicating how loud a sound needs to be for you to be able to hear it. It shows:
- Pitch (frequency) — what tones you can hear
- Volume (intensity) — how loud sounds need to be at a given pitch for you to be able to detect them
Step 1: Understand the Horizontal Axis (Across the Bottom)
This line shows pitch, measured in Hertz (Hz).
- Lower numbers (250–500 Hz) represent lower-pitched sounds
- Think: Bass guitar, distant thunder, deeper vowel sounds
- Higher numbers (4000–8000 Hz) represent higher-pitched sounds
- Think: Treble, birds chirping, children’s voices, consonants like “s,” “f,” and “th”
When it comes to hearing speech, a simple way to break it down is to consider that the low-frequencies give speech it’s volume, whereas the high-frequency sounds give speech it’s clarity and distinction. This is why high-frequency hearing loss often results in people saying things like, “I can hear people talking, but I can’t understand what they are saying.”
Step 2: Understand the Vertical Axis (Down the Side)
This line shows volume, measured in decibels (dB).
- The top of the graph (-10 to 20 dB) reflects softer sounds
- The bottom of the graph (70–100+ dB) reflects very loud sounds
The further down your results sit on the graph, the louder the sound had to be before you could hear it.
In simple terms:
The lower the marks on the page, the greater the degree of hearing loss at that pitch.
Step 3: Understanding the Symbols
On you’re audiogram, you’ll usually see lines that are marked with either:
- O = Right ear
- X = Left ear
You may also see additional symbols such as < > or [ ] which represent bone conduction testing. These help us determine whether hearing loss originates in the inner ear, middle ear, or both.
For a simplified understanding, most patients can focus on the O and X symbols to see the overall picture.
Step 4: Identify the Pattern
Now zoom out and look at the overall shape. Common patterns include:
- Flat loss – Similar hearing levels across pitches
- Sloping loss – Better in low pitches, poorer in high pitches (most common)
- Rising loss – poorer in low pitches
- Notched loss – a dip at specific frequencies, often noise related
How do we classify the degree of hearing loss
Hearing losses are generally classified using the terms mild, moderate, moderately- severe, severe and profound, depending on how far down the graph your thresholds are. Most hearing losses will pass through multiple categories – for example, here an example of a mild sloping to severe hearing loss:
An Important Perspective
Two people with identical audiograms can experience very different levels of difficulty.
An audiogram only measures what you can detect in a quiet environment. It does not measure:
• How you cope in background noise
• How well your brain processes rapid speech
• Listening fatigue
• Social or relationship impact
• Cognitive load
That is why a thorough discussion and comprehensive assessment are essential.
The Noosa Hearing Difference
At Noosa Hearing, we use a constellation of evidence-based tests, including speech audiometry and speech-in-noise assessment, to build a complete clinical picture.
We assess not only the degree of hearing loss, but also how effectively you process speech in both quiet and complex listening environments.
This comprehensive foundation allows us to design precise, personalised treatment strategies that truly support your communication, brain health and quality of life.
If you have questions about your audiogram, bring it to your appointment. We are here to explain it clearly, without jargon and without pressure.
Hear well. Think well.
