Minnesota Adult Basic Education Disabilities

Hearing Loss Diagram

What is the type of hearing loss? What degree of hearing loss is it? The type and degree of hearing loss determines the method of treatment for the hearing loss.

There are three types of hearing loss:

1. Conductive: This type is usually caused by things like wax in the ears, and is one of the easiest types to treat.
2. Sensorineural: This form involves the inner ear or the nerve cells. It can be treated with hearing aids or cochlear implants in most cases.
3. Mixed: This is both a conductive and a sensorineural loss. Children with ear infections often experience conductive hearing loss from the buildup of fluid in their ears. Older people may experience a sensorineural hearing loss.

Degrees of Hearing Loss

Determining the degree of hearing loss can be difficult, particularly with young children who do not test as well as older people.

There are basically four degrees (countries outside of the United States may not use the same terms). Please refer to audiogram below.

1. Mild: At 26-45 decibels (dB), a little difficulty hearing speech. Even a mild hearing loss can be serious for children still learning to talk
2. Moderate:  At 46-65 dB, more difficulty hearing speech.
3. Severe:  At 66-85 dB, a lot of difficulty hearing speech. It is at this level that we begin to use the term "deaf."
4. Profound:  Anything over 85 dB. With this level of hearing loss, hearing aids may or may not help; cochlear implants are often an option.

Audiogram: Loudness of sound is measured in decibels (dB). Most experts recommend that you use earplugs when exposed to 85 dB and above. But what does 85 dB mean? The following chart shows common sounds and their associated sound levels.