Take charge of your hearing with stellar audiogram reading and Tunefork’s personalized sound
Hearing tests are a normal part of everyday life. Regular hearing tests are recommended for children and adults alike, to help identify potential hearing impairments, diagnose medical conditions, start treatments in a timely fashion, and prevent further damage from wreaking havoc on your hearing.
But what does that jagged graph on the printout you’re provided really mean?
To truly understand your range of sound and take charge of your hearing and your quality of life, it’s essential that you learn to read and understand the results of your every audiogram.
Luckily for you, we’re here to help you make sense of every last dot and line.
How to read your audiogram
The following image represents your audiogram when taking a free hearing test via the Tunefork app.
The horizontal or x-axis represents the frequency of the pitch being tested, ranging from low frequencies (250 Hz) on the left to high frequencies (8000 Hz) on the right. The vertical or y-axis represents sound level or volume, in decibels, ranging from very faint sounds (0 dB) at the top to intense sounds (60 dB) at the bottom. The left ear is represented by one plotted line made up of connected dots (here, in orange), and the right ear is represented by the other plotted line (here, in red). The higher the dots appear on the chat, the better the results:
Determining degrees of hearing loss
The following are some measures employed to determine the existence and degrees of hearing loss include:
Threshold - the lowest level of sound that can be heard 50% of the time.
Speech reception threshold (SRT) - the softest sound level at which one can hear and correctly repeat approximately 50 percent of presented compound words.
Word recognition score - the percentage of words recognized at threshold
Speech discrimination - the percentage of words that are successfully repeated or identified from phonetically balanced word lists (25 or 50 words).
Acoustic reflex = the contraction of the middle ear in response to the presentation of a high intensity stimulus
Tympanometry - assessing how well the eardrum moves with air pressure, and whether there is fluid or damage present.
What to do with the results of your audiogram
Once you’ve completed your hearing test and have looked over your audiogram, it’s time to take your results to your healthcare provider. Regular testing must be accompanied by routine followup appointments to ensure you receive the best possible care for your ears. In many cases, hearing impairments can be treated, or even reversed, so long as the damage is identified at the earliest possible stage. Some hearing impairments may be treated with antibiotics or a surgical procedure, while others can be relieved with technical devices, like a hearing aid or sound optimization software, like Tunefork.
Regardless of the results of your audiograph, Tunefork can help you optimize your hearing, right now!
Start hearing better and enjoy a more sociable and productive life, by taking Tunefork’s free hearing test. Following the completion of the audiogram, our clinically-proven software will customize your earprint to deliver you fuller, richer sound that takes your hearing needs into account, from any digital device.
Click here to download the Tunefork app now!