Reading Audiograms
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Advice on reading audiograms
in South Australia

Hearing Resources  > Reading Audiograms 
Have you recently had a hearing assessment in South Australia? Or maybe you’re planning on getting your ears tested in the coming weeks and want to fully understand your hearing test results? Keep reading to find out all about audiograms and how to read them.

What is an audiogram?

An audiogram is a graph that indicates the softest sound you can hear for a particular range – otherwise known as your hearing threshold. It reveals the type of hearing loss you are suffering from, as well as the severity (mild, moderate, severe or profound).

There are three types of hearing loss. They are:

  • Conductive – disorder of the outer or middle ear. These may be temporary and can be eliminated with treatment.
  • Sensorineural – disorder of the inner ear or neural pathway. These are permanent and often related to age or noise.
  • Mixed – a combination of conductive and sensorineural.
As a guide, ‘X’ denotes the left ear, ‘O’ denotes right ear and/or denotes the results of bone conduction testing. Bone conduction is used to identify the type of hearing loss you are suffering from. It bypasses the middle and outer ear so a conductive loss can be identified where bone results are better than air conduction results.

    Some factors may indicate that you need to be referred to a GP or ENT, including:

    • Asymmetrical hearing loss
    • Unilateral tinnitus
    • Vertigo
    • Conductive hearing loss
    Reading an audiogram
    For more information about audiograms and how to read them, call our friendly team today on  1300 731 710.
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