How to Read an Audiogram

By: Dr. Carrie Raz, AuD, CCC-A

So, you had a hearing test done and don’t understand what the graph means. This is to help break down what it all means for you to better understand your test results. It is color coded and labeled for left and right. The right ear is red, or O’s and the left is blue, or X’s. The horizontal axis is frequency low bass tones on the left and high pitch treble on the right side. The vertical axis is volume, typically the top is extremely quiet, and the bottom is very loud. Normal hearing is ≤20 dB HL. With hearing test there is no pass or fail, it is what it is. There are also no “normal for my age” categories, normal is normal for humans at every age. Any X’s or O’s that fall below 20 dB HL on the vertical axis would be defined as a hearing loss. Below is what the most common type of hearing loss looks like. The average hearing loss starts in the high frequencies only. Most people state, “I hear fine, but I don’t understand.” This hearing loss is easily treatable, and it is recommended to treat it as early as it is diagnosed.