It can be a stressful time when having your baby or child’s hearing tested. You may not take in everything the audiologist tells you at the time of the appointment, or understand what this might mean for your child.
What can the audiogram tell you?
The audiogram is a graph showing the softest sound your child can hear at different pitches or frequencies.
The Familiar Sounds Audiogram shows the different levels of hearing loss (see right-hand side and shading), the speech banana (describes the area where most sounds of average conversational speech occur), and images of other familiar sounds and where they are placed on the graph. Note that this is just a guide and not a diagnostic tool, so make sure you consult your audiologist.
The example of a sensorineural hearing loss audiogram shows the results for both the left and right ear using both air and bone conduction and the symbols used for each. The Choices Booklet from Hearing Australia and the Aussie Deaf Kids website have more detailed information on understanding audiograms and how audiologists test hearing.
IF YOU STILL HAVE QUESTIONS MAKE SURE YOU ASK YOUR CHILD’S AUDIOLOGIST.
Download the Real Life Tips infographic.
More information:
- Audiograms
- Tests for hearing
- Choices Booklet (pages 14 & 15) | Hearing Australia
