What does hearing loss mean? 

This scale shows different levels of hearing loss (HL).

Normal hearing (<25dB HL)

 

Mild (26-40dB HL)

You have trouble hearing or understanding soft speech and whispers, or speech over background noise

 

Moderate (41-55 dB HL)

You have trouble hearing or understanding regular speech up close or regular speech in a quiet office environment

 

Moderately severe (56-70 dB HL)

You have trouble hearing or understanding everyday conversations or a telephone ringing

 

Severe (71-90 dB HL)

You can only hear loud sounds such as very loud speech, sirens or a door slamming

 

Profound (90+ dB HL)

You have trouble hearing sounds such as a motorbike or power tools

 

The degree of hearing loss is an important factor when choosing hearing aids. Not all hearing aids will suit all degrees of hearing loss. Read more about modern hearing aids.

An audiogram is a visual representation of your hearing. During the hearing test, your hearing healthcare professional will plot the results into the audiogram.

This is a typical audiogram for a person with normal hearing:

And this is a typical audiogram for a person with age-related hearing loss:

Your hearing healthcare professional uses the data from your audiogram to determine if you might benefit from hearing aids or if other medical treatment may be appropriate.

Take our online hearing test to get an indication if you have hearing loss.