How to read an audiogram
An audiogram is a graph of the softest sounds you responded to at different pitches. Across the page, sounds move from low to high frequency. Down the page, sounds become louder. Each mark is one measured hearing threshold—not a percentage of hearing.
Your audiologist should interpret the complete test in context. This guide helps you understand the vocabulary; it cannot diagnose hearing loss from a chart alone.
What do the axes on an audiogram mean?
The graph does not measure intelligence, attention or how much you care about a conversation. It records responses gathered during a specific test.
What do the symbols mean?
Common audiograms use an O for the right ear and an X for the left ear during air-conduction testing. Other symbols may show masked results, bone-conduction testing or responses obtained through speakers. Clinics may use color as a visual aid, but the printed symbols are what identify the measurement.
Air conduction measures the full pathway through the outer, middle and inner ear. Bone conduction bypasses the outer and middle ear to help the clinician determine the likely type of hearing loss. The relationship between these results—not one isolated symbol—helps distinguish conductive, sensorineural and mixed patterns.
How are hearing-loss levels described?
Clinicians commonly use terms such as normal or typical range, mild, moderate, severe and profound. The exact boundaries can vary slightly by clinical convention. Your result may also slope, rise, remain relatively flat or differ between ears.
The degree alone does not predict how well you understand speech. A person with a mild high-frequency loss may struggle with consonants in noise, while another person with a similar-looking graph may report different problems. That is why a complete evaluation includes your history and speech measures. See how results inform hearing aid options by level of hearing loss.
Why are speech test results separate?
Pure-tone thresholds show detection of simple tones. Speech testing asks different questions: how softly you can detect or recognize speech and how accurately you repeat words at an audible level. Scores can help explain why making sound louder does not always make every word clear.
Your audiologist may discuss speech reception thresholds, word-recognition scores and, depending on the evaluation, performance in background noise. Ask which speech measure was used and what it means for your everyday situations.
Five questions to ask about your audiogram
- Is the hearing loss conductive, sensorineural or mixed?
- Is one ear different enough from the other to require follow-up?
- Which frequencies affect the listening problems I notice?
- How did I perform on speech testing?
- Should I monitor, treat, consider hearing technology or seek a medical referral?
Sources
Understand your own hearing results
A complete hearing evaluation with Dr. Viviana Martinez includes an explanation of what the results mean and whether referral is appropriate.