Just like many things in life, hearing loss is on a spectrum. It’s rare for someone to be completely deaf in both ears. Instead, hearing loss is rated on a spectrum from mild to profound and usually affects both ears in different ways. It’s important for your audiologist to identify what level you have for a tailored treatment plan specific to help your quality of hearing.
Read on to learn more about the different levels of hearing loss and how early detection of hearing loss can make a difference to your quality of life.
Degrees of Hearing Loss
Hearing loss is measured in decibels (dB) and describes the level of noise you need to be able to hear clearly. Hearing tests help your audiologist determine your level of hearing loss.
- Normal hearing (up to 20 dB)
- Mild hearing loss (21 to 40 dB)
- Moderate hearing loss (41 to 70 dB)
- Severe hearing loss (71 to 95 dB)
- Profound hearing loss (95 dB or greater)
Mild Hearing Loss
Mild hearing loss is any loss of hearing between 21-40 dB. You will have trouble hearing soft sounds like whispering and may have trouble keeping up with conversations, especially in noisy environments. Possible causes include age-related hearing loss and mild noise-induced hearing loss.
Moderate Hearing Loss
Moderate hearing loss means you have a loss of hearing somewhere between 41-70 dB. Signs to look out for include difficulty hearing in group settings and requiring repetition. You may also find that you need to turn the TV up louder than usual. Hearing aids and auditory therapy are usually treatment options for moderate hearing loss to help make sure your quality of life isn’t too badly impacted.
Severe Hearing Loss
Severe hearing loss differs from earlier stages because you can only hear loud sounds between 71-95 dB. This is equivalent to the sound your washing machine makes. You may struggle to hear phone conversations and detection of high pitched sounds is a challenge, you’re likely to miss alarms. Hearing aids need to be stronger to help with severe hearing loss.
Profound Hearing Loss
Profound hearing loss means you struggle to hear most sounds with a loss of hearing 95 dB and greater. It can greatly impact your daily life and communication, you may find yourself unable to hear conversations or the television and you need to rely on visual cues or sign language to communicate.
How to read an audiogram
An audiogram is the graph or chart that shows the results of your hearing assessment. It tells your audiologist the level of your hearing loss and which ear(s) are affected.
X-axis (the horizontal lines): shows the different pitches of the sounds that played during the test.
Y-axis (vertical lines): shows the volume of the sounds as you go down the graph.
Circles: represent your right ear, crosses represent your left ear.
Your audiologist will use an audiogram together with a set of tests to determine your level of hearing loss. This will help them propose a personalised treatment plan.
Treatment options depend on your level of hearing loss
One of the most popular treatment options for many levels of hearing loss are hearing aids. They have a receiver that picks up sound and amplifies it into the ear canal – based on the patient’s level of hearing loss – to offer a tailor-made sound quality. These modern devices are a far cry from the clumsy beige models from 20 years ago. They are smaller and more discreet in almost all cases, a longer battery life, and some come armed with a wide range of different features and technological advances such as Bluetooth connectivity and much more.
Cochlear implants are offered to those with severe to profound hearing loss, particularly if it is permanent or congenital hearing loss. The devices are surgically implanted with an external piece of equipment that picks up sound and transfers it into the device which feeds directly into the auditory nerve rather than the ear canal.
Assistive technology are useful devices that can be used to help a person to hear and understand what is being said more clearly or to communicate more easily. There are many different types of assistive listening devices so speak to your audiologist or GP about options.
In order to catch hearing problems early, or to ensure you’re monitoring your hearing so it doesn’t get worse, early detection and regular check-ups are essential. At The Hearing Care Partnership, we offer free hearing assessments so we can help you catch and treat hearing issues as early as possible. Book your free hearing test today.
