It is quite common to experience occasional trouble hearing, for example if you are in a noisy environment or if you are conversing with a soft-spoken person. However, if you constantly have trouble hearing, you may have hearing loss. Having a hearing impairment does not necessarily mean that you need a hearing aid, though. Hearing loss is unique to each person and changes with time, so identifying your degree of hearing loss is essential to determine whether a hearing aid is necessary.
Read on to learn more about degrees of hearing loss and when to get a hearing aid.
To begin with, it helps to have a basic understanding of the degrees of hearing loss. Hearing loss generally can be divided into five categories:
While a person with normal hearing will be able to hear sounds in the 0 to 15 dB range (using the dB HL scale, 0 dB does not indicate the absence of sound, but rather the quietest sound that a person with normal hearing can detect) a person with slight hearing loss will have difficulty with sounds in the 16 to 25 dB range. This range includes things like whispers, sounds of breathing, and light footsteps. While some people are bothered by even a slight degree of hearing loss, most are not – and may not even notice it! Hearing aids are very rarely recommended for this degree of loss, and only for cases where an individual perceives a significant handicap from the loss.
A person with mild loss may have difficulty with sounds in the 26 to 40 decibel range. This level can include things like quiet speech, library sounds, and people speaking from another room. This is the level at which most people begin to notice that they are missing certain sounds and that their ability to communicate has declined. Not everyone in this category will benefit from hearing aids, but most will.
At this level, sounds of 41 to 65 dB may be missed. This range contains the bulk of conversational speech, along with TV, music, and many other vital sounds, and nearly everyone in this category will benefit from hearing aids.
A person with severe loss will have trouble with sounds at or below the 66 to 90 dB range, which includes not only virtually all human speech, but also things like alarm clocks, doorbells, ringing telephones, and even sirens, public announcement systems, and other forms of emergency communication. Hearing aids normally are vital for a person with severe hearing loss, and additional technology such as TV listening devices, amplified telephones, and other assistive listening devices may be required as well.
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In a profound hearing loss, even sounds louder than 91 dB can be difficult to hear. To put that into perspective, sounds in this range include subway trains, power tools, and aircraft engines, so of course a person with profound hearing loss is going to have tremendous difficulty with communication. At this level of hearing loss, even the most powerful hearing aids might not be adequate, and surgical solutions like cochlear implants may be more appropriate.
So how do you know if you actually have hearing loss and, if so, to what degree? Set up an appointment with our experienced audiologist, Dr. Chris Hoffmann. Our hearing health professional will conduct a series of tests to diagnose any hearing loss, and which sounds or frequencies you may have difficulty hearing. She will discuss those results with you and, if appropriate, recommend the best hearing aids for you.
Hearing loss is a treatable condition! If you suspect you have hearing loss, contact us today at 949-536-5180 to book a hearing test appointment with our audiologist.
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