When you go in for a hearing test, it is not just about getting your results. You need to understand what the numbers mean and how they relate to your health. If you have been told that there is a problem with your hearing, but do not know what that means for you in terms of day-to-day life, then this blog post will help explain it all!

What is An Audiogram?

The first step is to gain a clear understanding of what an audiogram shows and what one looks like. An audiogram is essentially a graph that depicts the softest sounds you can hear at different frequencies, measured in decibels (dB). The horizontal axis represents frequency, and the vertical axis represents a hearing level or loudness. For each line on this graph, there are corresponding numbers – these represent your results for each side of your head independently as well as both sides combined.

So, if you have two lines with one number above the other, it means that sound was detected slightly louder on one side than on the other – but still audible when presented binaurally. If they were equal, then they would be represented by lines crossed over another which means no sound was detected.

How to Understand an Audiogram

The softest sound you can hear is the threshold of hearing. This means that if a very quiet sound was presented to you by an audiologist, then this would be the faintest level at which your ear could detect it and interpret what it is. You may still have heard something but not know what – after all, we cannot recognize every single sound we hear – there are just too many frequencies around us!

Your threshold of hearing represents zero decibels on the audiogram graph. So, anything above this line is nothing more than background noise and will be inaudible. An important thing to note here is that an audiogram shows average results for a particular ear and frequency. So, if you have hearing loss, it doesn’t mean that every single sound is softer than average, but across the board, your results are lower than those of someone with perfect hearing.

What Does Healthy Hearing Look Like on an Audiogram?

Healthy hearing has several lines that rise gradually with frequencies. This means your ears can detect sounds at different levels and pick them out from the background noise around you – like when someone is talking to you or if there is music playing in the room!

Assuming an average threshold of hearing for young people as zero decibels would mean anything above 25dB up to 70dB represents normal healthy hearing. These are essential reference points because they tell us how loud things need to be before our brains start processing these sounds as something significant enough to wake us up or focus on.