{"id":72157,"date":"2025-09-24T22:13:22","date_gmt":"2025-09-24T22:13:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/hearingloss.com\/?p=72157"},"modified":"2026-07-08T16:19:44","modified_gmt":"2026-07-08T16:19:44","slug":"how-to-read-an-audiogram-guide","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/hearingloss.com\/blog\/how-to-read-an-audiogram-guide","title":{"rendered":"How to Read an Audiogram: A Quick Guide to Understanding Your Hearing Loss Results"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

This article was written by Jami Brooks, AuD, SLP, CCC-A, a HearingLoss.com\u00ae<\/sup>-Certified provider at Brooks Hearing Clinic located at Paris, Sulphur Springs, & Mount Pleasant, Texas.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

An audiogram might seem complex, but understanding it is key to knowing the extent of your hearing loss and making informed decisions about your treatment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This article breaks down how to read an audiogram, what the numbers and graphs mean, and how they translate to real-world hearing challenges.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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What Is an Audiogram and Why Is It Important?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

After you have your hearing screened, a process called pure-tone audiometry, the results are plotted on a graph called an audiogram.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The audiogram shows what pitches you can hear as well as the quietest volume at which you can hear them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Your provider uses your audiogram to determine the type, degree, and configuration of your hearing loss.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Find a Certified Hearing Care Provider Near You<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Your audiogram is just the beginning of understanding your hearing health. A hearing care provider can explain your results, answer your questions, and guide you toward the best treatment options.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Find a Provider Near You<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n
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How an Audiogram Measures Your Hearing Ability<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

For the purposes of this article, let\u2019s streamline the audiogram a little bit \u2014 this is a lot of information to absorb!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The focus will be testing with headphones, called air-conduction testing, because the sound travels by air in your ear canal.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Another type, bone-conduction testing, is also usually performed, and those results also show up on your audiogram.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So what does an audiogram measure?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Pure-tone audiometry<\/h3>\n\n\n
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In school or at the doctor\u2019s office, did you ever have to put on headphones, listen for a beep, and raise your hand when you heard it? That\u2019s pure-tone audiometry.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

At an audiologist\u2019s office, though, pure-tone audiometry is handled a little differently. You don\u2019t simply sit in a chair near the person performing the test. You sit in a sound-proof booth with specialized headphones, which minimizes sound contamination. Your provider is outside the booth running the test.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Depending on the office, you respond to the sounds by raising a finger or hand or pressing a button. Each ear is tested separately.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The audiogram is based on your responses. It tells your provider a lot about frequencies and intensities \u2014 and your hearing loss.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What is frequency in hearing tests?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

One thing being tested in pure-tone audiometry is the frequencies you can hear. Frequency simply means pitch, like when you say someone has a high-pitched voice.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

One way to imagine frequency is a piano: The keys on the right are the high notes \u2014 the notes with a high frequency. The keys to the left are the low notes \u2014 the notes with low frequency.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Or consider the world around you: Thunder and car engines have low frequencies. Birds chirping and children\u2019s voices have high frequencies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Pure-tone audiometry tests you on a wide range of frequencies to see which ones you have trouble hearing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What is intensity in hearing tests?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

The other thing being tested is intensity, or loudness. Each frequency is played more and more quietly, and your audiologist wants to know how quiet a given frequency needs to be such that you can no longer hear it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Why pure tones help detect specific hearing loss<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Why is it called pure-tone audiometry?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Most sounds you hear are made up of many different frequencies. But hearing loss doesn\u2019t affect all frequencies the same.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Using pure tones, which have only one frequency, lets us pinpoint exactly where you have hearing difficulties. They\u2019re essential for getting an accurate diagnosis.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Put it all together<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Your audiogram is a graph, with frequencies listed along the top and intensity along the side. Each point on the graph is either an X (for your left ear) or an O (for your right ear).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Every X or O on your audiogram is a piece of data that says, \u201cThis pitch was played, and below this volume it couldn\u2019t be heard.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Understanding Frequency and Intensity on Your Audiogram<\/h2>\n\n\n
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Let\u2019s unpack the audiogram a little more, starting with how we measure frequency and intensity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What do hertz (Hz) tell you about hearing?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Frequency is measured in a unit called a hertz (Hz). The higher the hertz, the higher the frequency. A tone of 2,000 Hz has a much higher pitch than a tone of 100 Hz.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Remember how frequency was compared to a piano in the section above? That\u2019s how the hertz measurements are arranged at the top of the audiogram \u2014 lower frequencies on the left, higher frequencies on the right.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Most speech is in the range of 250 Hz to 6,000 Hz. Pure-tone testing usually covers the range 250 Hz to 8,000 Hz.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What do decibels tell you about hearing?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Intensity is measured in decibels (dB). The higher the decibels, the louder the sound. A tone at 30 dB is much quieter than that same tone at 70 dB.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

On an audiogram, the decibel measurements are small at the top and increase as you move toward the bottom of the page.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A normal conversation is about 60 dB. A gas-powered lawn mower is around 90 dB.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

How to read the audiogram<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

What does this graph tell us?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Let\u2019s say you hear a tone at 250 Hz. It gets quieter and quieter, until you can\u2019t hear it at all. You could hear it at 20 dB, but not softer than that. It was just too quiet. And it was the same for each ear.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Your audiogram, then, shows a black X (left ear) and a red O (right ear) at the spot where 250 Hz and 20 dB meet. That 20 dB is your hearing threshold<\/em> at 250 Hz \u2014 you can\u2019t hear anything quieter at that pitch.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

By the end of the test, you\u2019ve heard tones at 250 Hz, 500 Hz, 1,000 Hz, 2,000 Hz, 3,000 Hz, 4,000 Hz, and 8,000 Hz. Your audiogram is a line starting at 250 Hz and crawling across the page to the right, a series of Xs and Os noting your hearing thresholds at each frequency.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

They all hover on or just above 20 dB \u2014 until the line reaches 2,000 Hz. The line splits, and a red branch dips suddenly to 35 dB, marked by a red circle. The other branch dips more severely to 40 dB, and it\u2019s marked by a black X.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That dip indicates (1) you have a hearing loss at 2,000 Hz, (2) it\u2019s different in each ear, (3) and it\u2019s worse in your left ear. The clue: 25 dB is considered the borderline for hearing loss. When a hearing threshold is greater than that, it means you no longer hear that frequency in the normal range.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Don\u2019t Get Overwhelmed by Your Audiogram<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Your audiogram is full of important details, but you don\u2019t have to figure it out alone. When you meet with a Certified provider, they’ll walk you through your results step by step, explain what it all means, and help you understand your best next steps.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Find a Certified Provider Near You<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n
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Types of Hearing Loss and What They Look Like on an Audiogram<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Once you know what to look for, an audiogram can quickly tell you a lot. For example, certain telltale patterns reveal what type of hearing loss is present. Let\u2019s see some examples.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

High-frequency hearing loss audiogram shape and pattern<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

One of the most common types of hearing loss is high-frequency hearing loss. Age-related hearing loss and noise-related hearing loss are prime examples.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It occurs when the tiny, delicate structures in your inner ear responsible for high-frequency sounds become damaged and can\u2019t send as much sound information to your brain. With this kind of hearing loss, you struggle to hear sounds like children\u2019s voices, birdsong, and autumn leaves rustling.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

On an audiogram, the graph looks like a hill: It\u2019s straight starting at the top left and, somewhere between 1,000 Hz and 2,000 Hz, slopes downward sharply to the right.<\/p>\n\n\n

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The slope looks roughly the same for each degree of hearing loss, but for each degree, it sits in a different spot on the audiogram:<\/p>\n\n\n\n