An audiogram is a graph that shows how well you hear different pitches, or frequencies, at different volumes. The horizontal axis represents frequency in hertz, usually from low pitches on the left to high pitches on the right, while the vertical axis represents loudness in decibels, with softer sounds at the top and louder sounds at the bottom. When you take a hearing test, you respond to tones played through headphones, and the tester marks the softest level you can hear at each frequency. These marks are plotted on the graph, and the resulting line or set of symbols reveals the pattern of your hearing. The further down the marks sit on the graph, the louder a sound must be before you can hear it.
One of the most common questions is what the symbols on an audiogram mean. Red circles typically represent the right ear and blue crosses represent the left ear, though colors and shapes can vary between clinics. Marks made with a bracket or arrow often indicate that the sound was presented through a bone conductor, which bypasses the outer and middle ear and tests the inner ear directly. If the bone conduction marks are better than the headphone marks, that gap suggests a problem in the outer or middle ear rather than the inner ear. Your audiologist will explain the specific symbols used in your test.
Another frequent question concerns what counts as normal hearing. Hearing thresholds of up to 20 or 25 decibels are generally considered within the normal range across most frequencies. Mild hearing loss is usually described as thresholds between about 26 and 40 decibels, moderate loss between 41 and 55 decibels, moderately severe loss between 56 and 70 decibels, severe loss between 71 and 90 decibels, and profound loss above 90 decibels. These categories are guidelines rather than strict boundaries, and what matters most is how the pattern of loss affects your daily communication.
People often ask whether an audiogram shows everything about their hearing. It does not. A standard audiogram measures sensitivity to pure tones, but it does not directly assess speech understanding, especially in background noise. That is why testers often include speech recognition tests alongside the audiogram. The shape of the audiogram also matters: a sloping pattern toward the high frequencies is common with age-related hearing loss, while a flat pattern can suggest other causes. Your audiologist interprets the whole picture, including your history and lifestyle, before recommending hearing aids, assistive devices, or further medical evaluation.
For more on this, see Reading My Audiogram.
