Scroll up and down the page to see all of the audiograms, then click on the graph that most closely matches yours. You will get a description of the loss and an explanation of its effect on both hearing and understanding.

Note that all of the marks representing the softest sounds you can hear are above, or better than, the frequencies and intensities where speech normally occurs. Your hearing is fine.

You have a mild hearing loss in the high frequencies. The pattern is suggestive of noise damage. On average, your hearing is normal, but note how your hearing loss dips into the consonant area. Under perfect listening conditions, you will miss a few words off and on because of not hearing s's, z's, th's, v's, and other soft, high frequency consonasts. Still, as long as your measure speech discrimination scores ( " SDS, " or " SD " on your audiogram) is 90% or better in at least one ear, you should not have any problems conversing under good listening conditions.

Under noisy conditions, you will have more trouble. Work to improve the acoustics in your environment, or get a better quality telephone, or make an effort to converse face-to face, in quiet places.

Basic hearing aids would be more of a hindrance than a help for this hearing loss. Sophisticated hearing aids might be of some help, though the amount of benefit might not justify the cost. What IS critical is to protect your remaining hearing. Do what you can to avoid loud noise. Use effective hearing protection when you cannot.

You have a mild hearing loss in the high frequencies. The pattern is suggestive of noise damage. On average, your hearing is normal, but note how your hearing loss dips into the consonant area. Under perfect listening conditions, you will miss a few words off and on because of not hearing s's, z's, th's, v's, and other soft, high frequency consonasts. Still, as long as your measure speech discrimination scores ( " SDS, " or " SD " on your audiogram) is 90% or better in at least one ear, you should not have any problems conversing under good listening conditions.

Under noisy conditions, you will have more trouble. Work to improve the acoustics in your environment, or get a better quality telephone, or make an effort to converse face-to face, in quiet places.

Basic hearing aids would be more of a hindrance than a help for this hearing loss. Sophisticated hearing aids might be of some help, though the amount of benefit might not justify the cost. What IS critical is to protect your remaining hearing. Do what you can to avoid loud noise. Use effective hearing protection when you cannot.

Your hearing loss is unusual, but not rare. You have a mild to moderate low frequency hearing loss, with close to normal hearing in the high frequencies. The primary effect will be a loss of overall loudness. You will need to be much closer than normal to carry on conversations, and may warning sounds, even if audible, will not be loud enough to grab your attention.

If the hearing thresholds in both ears at 500 Hz is 35 dB or worse, you probably need hearing aids.

This is the most common type of hearing loss. It is usually due to the effects of aging on the inner ear and related structures.

Note that in the lower frequencies, the hearing sensitivity is much better than is needed to hear vowels. You will have no problem knowing that someone is talking to you. However, look at how far below the consonant areas (in the upper right hand portion of the yellow area of the graph) your hearing sensitivity falls. Because you are missing so many consonants, you are going to have quite a problem distinguishing one word from another. Someone might ask you one question, and you might answer a different one. Or you may think everyone mumbles nowadays.

You need hearing aids that are sophisticated enough to amplify soft, high frequency sounds a lot, moderate high frequency sounds just a bit, and loud high frequency sounds not at all. Your hearing aids must also leave the low frequencies essentially unchanged.

This is the most common type of hearing loss seen in older workers in noisy industries. It is generally due to the effects of too much noise for too many years on the inner ear and related structures.

Note that in the lower frequencies, the hearing sensitivity is good enough to give you some vowel information. You will therefore be able to know that someone is talking. However, look at how far below the consonant areas (in the upper right hand portion of the yellow area of the graph) your hearing sensitivity falls. Because you are missing so many consonants, you are going to have a large problem distinguishing one word from another. Someone might ask you one question, and you might answer a different one.

You need hearing aids, though even with hearing aids, you are still going to have some trouble distinguishing words. The hearing aids can only correct so much.

You have a moderate hearing loss. " Moderate " means just what it sounds like -- it is worse than " mild, " not as bad as " severe. "

Your hearing loss will have two effects. First, because your hearing sensitivity is worse than the volumes used in normal conversation (the yellow area on the graph), you have lost much of the loudness of speech. What is normal conversational volume for most people is a bare whisper for you. Second, because you are missing so much consonant information, you are going to confuse those words that you do hear.

You need hearing aids. You should put as much money into circuit technology as you possibly can. You also need to keep in mind that you are still going to have some difficulty in more challenging listening conditions, even with your hearing aids.

You have a moderate hearing loss. " Moderate " means just what it sounds like -- it is worse than " mild, " not as bad as " severe. "

You have a moderate hearing loss in the low frequencies, a severe hearing loss in the middle frequencies, and a total hearing loss in the high frequencies. Your EFFICIENT communication distance without hearing aids will be at your shoulder, though your ability to know that a voice is present will be as far as 6 to 10 meters, or 20 or 30 feet.

You absolutely need hearing aids. With hearing aids, you should be able to communicate with reasonable effectiveness at distances up to 3 meters, or 10 feet. You need to combine speechreading (a more accurate term for " lipreading " ) with what you can hear in order to converse. All conversations should be face to face, in quiet.

You have a moderate hearing loss. " Moderate " means just what it sounds like -- it is worse than " mild, " not as bad as " severe. "

You have a severe (if most thresholds are 70 to 90 dB HL) or a profound (for scores of 90 dB HL or worse) hearing loss.

You absolutely need hearing aids. They will bring your hearing loss into the " moderate " range, making it possible for you to converse with some degree of effectiveness at distances up to 3 meters, or 10 feet. Still, you will get little consonant information, so you need to combine speechreading (a more accurate term for " lipreading " ) with what you can hear in order to converse.

You must also take into account your speech discrimination scores ( " SDS, " or " SD " on your audiogram). If your scores are 50% or worse, communication will require lots of patience all around. All conversations must be face to face, in quiet.