Hearing Tests: Results

• You are able to hear whispered speech accurately.
• You can hear tones at equal loudness in both ears.
• You are able to repeat 90% to 95% of the words in a word recognition test.
• The microphone detects emissions from the inner ear in otoacoustic emissions (OAE) testing.
• The values recorded on the graph for auditory brain stem response (ABR) testing show that the nerves in the brain responsible for hearing are working normally.

• You are not able to hear the whispers during a whispered speech test, or you are able to hear with one ear but not with the other.
• You hear the tone more loudly in one ear than in the other.
• You can only hear certain sounds at high decibel levels.
• You can hear sounds but you cannot understand words.
• No emissions are detected from the inner ear in otoacoustic emissions (OAE) testing.
• The values recorded on the graph for auditory brain stem response (ABR) testing show that nerves in the brain responsible for hearing are not functioning normally.

0–25 dB

None

No significant difficulty

26–40 dB

Mild

Difficulty with faint or distant speech

41–55 dB

Moderate

Difficulty with conversational speech

56–70 dB

Moderate to severe

Speech must be loud; difficulty with group conversation

71–90 dB

Severe

Difficulty with loud speech; understands only shouted or amplified speech

91+ dB

Profound

May not understand amplified speech