Levels of Hearing Loss
Profound
hearing loss
Profound hearing loss is the most extreme hearing
loss. A profound hearing loss means that you may not hear loud
speech or any speech at all. You are forced to rely on visual
cues instead of hearing as your main method of communication.
This may include sign-language and/or speechreading (also commonly
referred to as "lipreading").
Severe hearing loss
People with
severe hearing loss have difficulty hearing in all situations.
Speech may be heard only if the speaker is talking loudly or
at close range. A severe hearing loss may sometimes cause you
to miss up to 100% of the speech signal. Symptoms of severe hearing loss
include inability to have conversations except under the most ideal circumstances
(i.e., face-to-face, in quiet, and accompanied with speechreading).
Moderate hearing
loss
A moderate hearing loss may cause you to miss 50-75% of the speech
signal. This means you would not have problems hearing at short
distances and understanding people face-to-face, but you would have problems
if distance or visual cues changed. Symptoms of moderate hearing
loss include problems hearing normal conversations and problems
hearing consonants in words.
Mild hearing loss
A mild hearing loss may cause you to miss 25-40%
of the speech signal. Usually this results in problems with clarity
since the brain is receiving some sounds but not all of the information.
Symptoms of mild hearing loss include problems understanding someone farther
away than a normal distance for conversation, or even up close if the
background environment is noisy. Weak voices are also difficult to understand
for people with mild hearing losses.
Unilateral hearing loss
A unilateral hearing loss is hearing loss in one ear.
Hearing in one ear is normal but the other ear is hearing-impaired. Symptoms
of unilateral hearing loss may include difficulty locating the source
of sounds, and problems hearing understanding speech in certain situations,
such as:
- Problems hearing faint or distant speech, especially if weaker
ear is closer to the person speaking
- Problems hearing in a background of noise — especially if the "good" ear
is close to the competing signal.
High Frequency
High frequency info to come.
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Types of hearing loss
Additional information about hearing aids
