What is an Audiogram?

An audiogram is graph that detects how soft or loud a sound is, measured by frequency and intensity and whether or not the person can hear it.

The markings can be characterized by a circle (O) the letter X,  a > sign, or a < sign.

 

What is Frequency?

Frequency is a measurement of the number of times that a wave is repeated in a second. It is measured by Hertz (Hz).

It is often displayed at the top of the audiogram.

 

What is Intensity?

Intensity is defined as the pressure of sound. It is measured by Decibels (Db). It is often displayed on the left side of the audiogram.

 

What are Bone Conduction and Air Conduction?

Bone Conduction is the conduction of sound in the inner ear through the bones of the skull; also known as the mastoid process.

It is tested by a bone vibrator to direct sound into the cochlea. An audiogram's bone conduction is often depicted as the > or the < symbol.

On the other hand, air conduction is the transmission of sound to the inner ear through the ear canal and the structures of the middle ear.

Air Conduction is tested with earphones that are placed over the ears and then the sound is inserted through the ear canal. It is often 

depicted on an audiogram as the O, and the X symbol.

 

What do the Colors on a Audiogram Mean?

When looking at an audiogram the two colors that will appear will be red and blue.

The color red stands for the right ear and can be seen in either bone conduction or air conduction.

The color blue stands for the left ear and can also be seen in either bone conduction or air conduction.

 

Hearing Loss on an Audiogram

• Normal Hearing Range: 0-15 dB HL for a child, 0-25 dB for an adult, no formal hearing loss.

• Mild Hearing Loss Range: 20-40 dB HL, Difficulty hearing soft sounds, therefore making words sound incomplete. Being in noisy enviornments makes it hard to hear.

• Moderate Hearing Loss Range: 40-70 dB HL, hard and soft sounds that contain constanants are not heard, speech is difficult very difficult to understand.

• Severe Hearing Loss Range: 70-90 dB HL, hearing without amplification is impossible, but still some loud sounds are heard.

• Profound Hearing Loss: 90+ dB HL, sounds are not heard at all.