The degrees of hearing loss

Hearing loss isn’t the same for everybody.

Let’s say you’ve been having a hard time hearing conversations at the dinner table lately. And you often need to turn the volume up on the TV. So, you get a hearing exam and consultation to see what’s going on.

At the exam, a hearing care professional such as an audiologist assesses whether you have hearing loss and how extreme it is. It could be mild, moderate or even severe. These descriptions are known as degrees of hearing loss.

For example, the hearing care professional might say you have mild hearing loss. Or your hearing loss is severe. But what does that mean exactly? What sounds can you hear (and not hear) with each type?

Read on to see how hearing care professionals test for hearing loss and how they figure out what type you might have.

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How hearing loss is measured

During your hearing exam, the hearing care professional will use various machines and tools to test your hearing. “First, we find what the quietest volume is that people can hear,” says Mary C. Henry, Au.D. She’s an audiologist at Swedish Health Service in Seattle.

The hearing care professional may do this by asking you to listen to sounds in a range of pitches and tones. These are usually a series of beeps that are louder or softer. The pitches of the beeps compare with the ones people use when they speak, says Henry.

“This test gives us our ratings,” says Henry. They range from mild to profound.

The next step is to test how well you understand actual words, with or without background noise and at different volumes. That tests your speech recognition.¹ “One thing this can tell us is how much their speech understanding can improve with hearing aids,” says Henry.

Your hearing care professional may do other tests, too, depending on the type of hearing loss, says Henry. They will want to know about your family history of hearing issues. They may also ask about what you’ve noticed about your hearing. For instance, they may want to know how loud you need to turn up the volume on your phone to hear conversations. Or whether you think people mumble.

They’ll also ask if you’ve been around loud sounds, especially if you’ve had a job in construction, for example.

You can take a preliminary online hearing assessment. While it may not give you official results, it may help you decide whether to get a comprehensive test.

What the types of hearing loss mean

After the exam, your hearing care professional will go over the results with you and explain your degree of hearing loss. Hearing loss is evaluated using decibels (dB). “Decibels are the measurement of sound level, or volume,” Henry explains. “The term ‘dB HL’ describes your hearing loss in decibels.”

For example, if you have normal hearing, you might hear the softest sounds, like leaves rustling or people whispering. You may hear higher-pitched tones, like birds singing.²  

The higher your dB HL, the harder it is to hear. Most people with hearing loss fall into the mild or moderate category, according to the National Council on Aging.³  

Once you have any type of hearing loss, these are the sounds you may struggle to hear clearly:^2,4,5,6  

• Mild hearing loss (26 to 40 dB HL): Hearing quiet sounds in this range might be challenging. Signs include:
  • You find it hard to hear young kids, who have high-pitched voices.
  • It’s tough to hear people who speak softly or are whispering.
  • You miss soft consonants, like f, p, th and s.
  • You may also ask people to repeat themselves, or to speak up. 

• Moderate hearing loss (41 to 55 dB HL): With this degree, you may hear people talking at a normal level. But without hearing aids you can’t understand what they say. Other signs include:
  • You miss hard consonant sounds, like m, d, b, and j.
  • Vowels, like o and a, are hard to hear.
  • You often think people are mumbling.

• Moderately severe to severe hearing loss (56 to 90 dB HL): With this type, hearing everyday sounds is nearly impossible. Signs include:
  • You may not be able to hear conversations, even at normal levels.
  • You might not hear a baby laughing or a dog barking.
  • You may not hear the phone ringing, or the doorbell.

• Profound hearing loss (91+ dB HL): A person can’t hear any speech. And they might only hear the loudest sounds, like a jet engine.

Getting treatment

What happens after you get a diagnosis? Your hearing care professional will probably recommend treatment. Typically, this would include hearing aids. This is especially true if your hearing loss is in the mild-to-moderate range and there aren’t wide variations in the tones you cannot hear, says Henry.

If you’re not sure if you have hearing loss, consider starting with an online hearing assessment. Just don’t ignore your precious hearing. Hearing loss typically doesn’t improve, says Henry. So, the sooner you do something about it, the better.

Sources

1. Speech testing American Speech-Language-Hearing Association. Accessed November 20, 2024.
2. Degrees of hearing loss Hearing Health Foundation. Accessed November 18, 2024.
3. Hearing loss statistics 2024: more common than you might think National Council on Aging. November 5, 2024.
4. Degree of hearing loss American Speech-Language-Hearing Association. Accessed November 20, 2024.
5. Understanding hearing loss Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Last updated May 15, 2024.
6. Signs of noise-induced hearing loss Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Last updated April 12, 2024.

Information is for educational purposes only and is not a substitute for the advice of a licensed medical provider. Consult your provider prior to making changes to your lifestyle or health care routine.

Other hearing exam providers are available in the UnitedHealthcare network.