If you're not Hard of Hearing (HOH) or Deaf, you might be wondering, what qualifies as Deaf or Hard of Hearing? Well, first, you need to know how hearing is measured.
Here is a very basic audiogram that's a bit simpler than the ones Audiologists use:
So, my audiogram from MY doctor is a little bit different. It only tests hearing levels as low as 120dBHL, and the normal hearing range from my audiologists is slightly larger.
To start understanding your test, you need to understand a few terms. On the left or right side of most audiograms you see dBHL, which stands for decibels hearing level. Most people just use dB, which stands for decibels. Decibels here is the level of intensity, or loudness that you need to have in order to hear a sound. On the top or bottom of the audiogram is Hz, which stands for hertz, or frequency. Without getting into technical stuff that is beyond a non-audiologist like me, the lower the Hz number is, the lower pitch, while the higher the Hz number is, the higher the pitch. These numbers/sounds on the graph are arranged lowest to highest, from left to right, like a piano.
Anyhow, this graph is what an audiologist gives you after your hearing test. Now your average hearing person's range falls between -10dBs (the very best) to about 20dB or 25dBs (bordering mild hearing loss. The quietest thing you can hear is from almost total silence to a whisper. To compare it to an everyday sound, 20dB is rustling leaves. Your hearing is excellent, and you are fully hearing.
Just below that normal hearing range, from about 25dB to 40dB is mild hearing loss. This means that you can't hear really soft sounds, or even plain old soft sounds. These numbers are the quietest things you can hear, so someone whispering to you is probably wasting their time. At 30dB you can hear a whisper at about 5 feet in a quiet environment, and probably not many things quieter. You likely have trouble hearing in noisy environments or group settings, though.
If your quietest levels are from 40dB to 70dB you have moderate to severe hearing loss. You can't hear soft or moderately loud sounds, and understanding speech with background noise is very difficult. Moderate rainfall, which is at about 50dB, is very quiet for you, and daily house noises are starting to really to fade into the background.
Having your quietest dB level fall between 70dB to 90dB means that your hearing falls under the category of severe hearing loss. People speaking to you need to raise their voices, and group conversation is nearly impossible, if not thoroughly impossible. The quietest noises you can probably hear are heavy traffic sounds (78dB), a router (85dB-110dB), a food blender (88dB), other types of loud machinery sounds, or very loud dance halls/concerts.
90dB to 110dB is profoundly Deaf. Some very loud sounds are audible, but hearing aids are necessary to hear any basic speech, and even then, they are not very likely to make much of a difference. Anything below 90dB is profound deafness, and you likely hear nothing beyond heavy machinery.
If you are losing your hearing, don't worry! It'll be ok! The Deaf community has lived without sound for centuries, and they thrive as well as everyone else! In fact, they might be better off, not having to hear swearing, cat calls, car horns, microphone feedback, or just anything of the overwhelming soup of sound we live in.
Tomorrow we'll deal with the frequency (hertz) part of your audiogram.
Bibliography:
Website:
CHSL.ORG
How Loud is It?
In-text: (Chsl.org, 2015)
Bibliography: Chsl.org, (2015). How Loud is It?. [online] Available at: http://www.chsl.org/soundchart.php [Accessed 9 Jan. 2015].
Website
HEARINGLINK.ORG
In-text: (Hearinglink.org, 2015)
Bibliography: Hearinglink.org, (2015). [online] Available at: http://www.hearinglink.org/image/audiograms---general-use/Audiogram-800.jpg [Accessed 9 Jan. 2015].
And information from my own personal audiograms.
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