What does a hearing test tell you?
- 6 hours ago
- 4 min read
Many people are surprised by how much information a hearing test provides. An audiogram is much more than a graph with a few dots and lines – it is a detailed map of how you hear different tones and how your brain perceives speech.
At AudioPlus, it is important to us that you not only know if you have poor hearing, but also why and how it affects you in everyday life.
What is an audiogram?
An audiogram is the result of a hearing test. The graph/curve shows the softest sound levels you can hear at different frequencies (tones). We test how low we can go before you can no longer perceive the sound.
The audiogram shows:
Horizontal axis (Hz): Pitch – from deep tones/bass (125 Hz) to bright tones/treble (8000 Hz).
Vertical axis (dB HL): Loudness. How loud the sound has to be before you can hear it. The further down the graph, the louder the sound.
Most speech sounds lie between approximately 250 and 6000 Hz , and therefore a small hearing loss in this range can have a major impact on how well you understand speech.
Normal minimum hearing in humans is defined to be somewhere between 0-20 dB in all frequencies between 125 Hz and 8000 Hz.
What does the audiologist look for?
When we interpret an audiogram, we look at, among other things:
Whether hearing is equal in both ears.
Whether the hearing loss affects low, intermediate or high frequencies.
Whether the curve is flat, rising, falling or has special patterns.
Whether the results match the symptoms you describe.
Whether there are signs that may indicate illness or damage to the ear, and whether further investigation is necessary.
We always consider test results along with your history and background – not just the graph alone.
Pure tone or bone conduction – what's the difference?
During a hearing test, we often measure both air conduction (pure tone) and bone conduction .
Pure tone (air conduction) is tested using headphones or earplugs. The sound is presented to the ears via the headphones, and travels through the entire auditory system – the outer ear, middle ear, and inner ear.
Bone conduction is tested with a small vibrator attached to a headband, where we place the vibrator behind the ear on the mastoid/skull bone. This headband sends the sound directly to the cochlea in the inner ear via bone, bypassing the outer and middle ear.
By looking at the curves and comparing these measurements, we can find out where in the auditory system any hearing loss is located .
If air and bone conduction are approximately the same and lie on top of each other with a very small margin, it often indicates sensorineural hearing loss (the cause of the hearing loss is in the inner ear or the auditory nerve). Most age-related hearing loss is so-called sensorineural hearing loss.
If bone conduction is significantly better than air conduction, it may indicate conductive/mechanical hearing loss. For example, due to ear canals that are clogged with earwax, fluid in the middle ear behind the eardrum, fractures or calcifications in the ossicular chain, or other conditions in the middle ear.
A combination of both is called a mixed hearing loss .
How is hearing loss graded?
The World Health Organization (WHO) classifies hearing according to the average hearing threshold at the most important speech frequencies/pure tone averages (500 Hz, 1000 Hz, 2000 Hz, 4000 Hz).
Average hearing threshold | Degree of hearing |
20 dB HL or better | Normal hearing |
21–34 dBHL | Mild hearing loss |
35–49 dBHL | Moderate hearing loss |
50–64 dBHL | Moderately severe hearing loss |
65–79 dBHL | Severe hearing loss |
80–94 dBHL | Very severe hearing loss |
95 dB HL or more | Total or near total hearing loss |
The numbers give a good indication, but do not tell you everything about how you function in daily life. Two people with the same audiogram can experience their hearing very differently.
Therefore, we also test speech perception
There is not always a correlation between how weak the tones you hear are and how well you understand people speaking. That is why we often perform speech audiometry.
Here you will be presented with different words via headphones that you will listen to and repeat immediately. This test measures how well you understand speech, both in quiet environments and with background noise. It provides a more realistic picture of the challenges you may face in everyday life – at work, around the dinner table or in social situations.
The results help us to:
Assess how well you understand speech
Assess the need for hearing aids or other hearing aids
Fitting hearing aids more precisely
Document the effect of the measures/treatment
An audiogram is just the start
A hearing test is about much more than just getting a sheet of paper with some curves. At AudioPlus, we take the time to explain what the results mean, what consequences they can have in everyday life, and which solutions are best suited for you.
In addition, we can also conduct a digital ear examination of your ears in collaboration with Otomed for further medical clarification.
Are you unsure about how you hear, or do you want to understand your results better?
We are happy to help you with a thorough hearing assessment and provide you with a detailed, understandable and clear review of the results. Our goal is for you to leave the clinic with a good understanding of your own hearing situation – and confidence for the way forward.
Greetings from all of us at
AudioPlus Norge AS
Tel: +47 990 99 779
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