During your hearing assessment, your audiologist will perform audiometry alongside an examination of your ears. From this, an audiogram will be produced and discussed with you. This is a hearing loss chart which marks your hearing loss and helps you to visualise your level of hearing in each ear. It is important to be able to understand the severity of any hearing loss present to enable you to find the best and most appropriate solution, this may include hearing aids to help alleviate the symptoms and improve the quality of your daily life.
The audiogram is a chart which displays the results of audiometry, with frequency (measured in hertz) running along the x axis and loudness (measured in decibels) running along the y axis. Each ear is measured separately with the results saved. This allows us to monitor your hearing moving forward.
The table below shows the hearing loss categories with a description of what you may experience day-to-day with your hearing.
Hearing Loss Category |
Average Hearing Threshold Levels (dB HL) |
What You May Experience |
Normal Hearing |
Less than 20 |
Little to no hearing difficulties |
Mild |
21 – 40 |
Difficulty keeping up with conversations, especially in noisy surroundings |
Moderate |
41 – 70 |
Difficulty keeping up with conversations and understanding speech, especially when there is background noise |
Severe |
71 – 95 |
Struggle to find some loud sounds audible, but with a hearing aid this is possible |
Profound |
In excess of 95 |
Struggle to find very loud sounds audible. Communication without a hearing aid is almost impossible |
If your hearing lies outside of the normal range, hearing aids can make social interactions and listening to music easier.