Hospital and clinic documents
Hearing test (audiogram) explainer
A hearing test report pairs a graph or grid of numbers with symbols such as O, X, brackets and arrows, plus a line or two of summary. The numbers run the opposite way to what many people expect: a larger figure means a tone had to be louder before it was heard. Add your report below to see each part named and explained.
Explain your hearing test (audiogram)
- 1. Add itDrop a PDF, take a photo or paste the text.
- 2. Check itPersonal details are removed on your device. You approve what is sent.
- 3. Read itSummary, table of results, terms and questions to ask.
The explainer opens on its own page with no adverts and no outside scripts. Your file is read on your device and is never uploaded.
What you get
- Thresholds for each ear set out by frequency, in the units your report uses.
- Air conduction and bone conduction results separated, with the symbols and masking marks explained.
- Speech test and tympanometry lines, such as SRT, WRS and Type A, B or C, written out.
- Questions to ask your audiologist about the summary wording.
Terms on a hearing test report
- dB HL (decibels hearing level)The loudness scale used for hearing tests; the figure given is the quietest level at which a tone was heard
- Frequency in HzThe pitch of each test tone, running from low-pitched tones to high-pitched ones across the chart
- AC (air conduction)Tones played through headphones or insert earphones, usually drawn as O for the right ear and X for the left
- BC (bone conduction)Tones sent through a small vibrator resting on the bone behind the ear, which bypasses the outer and middle ear
- PTA (pure tone average)The average of the thresholds at a few stated frequencies
- SRT and WRSSpeech reception threshold, and word recognition score, the percentage of test words repeated correctly
- Tympanometry Type A, B or CA label for the shape of the trace recorded while air pressure in the ear canal is varied
What this tool cannot tell you
Words such as mild, moderate and severe on a hearing report come from classification scales, and more than one scale is in use, so MedicDecode repeats the grade your report gives and does not assign one. It does not say what has caused a hearing loss, whether it will change, or whether a hearing aid or other treatment is suitable. An audiogram that exists only as a plotted graph may not carry over as text, so check that the numbers appear in what you add. Your audiologist or ENT doctor reads the test alongside an ear examination and your history.
Common questions
What is the difference between air conduction and bone conduction?
They are two ways of delivering the test tone. Air conduction sends it through the whole ear, and bone conduction sends it through the skull to the inner ear. Reports show both so the clinician can compare them, and a difference between the two is called an air-bone gap.
What do Type A, B and C mean on the tympanometry line?
They are shorthand for the shape of the tympanogram, a trace of how the eardrum moves as pressure changes. Type A is a peak close to zero on the pressure scale, Type B is a flat trace, and Type C is a peak shifted toward negative pressure. What a given shape means in your case is for the clinician who tested you to explain.
Why are there brackets, arrows or the word masked on my results?
Masking means a noise was played in the other ear so that it could not help during the test, and masked results are drawn with different symbols, often brackets or triangles. A downward arrow usually marks no response at the loudest level the equipment could produce. Symbol sets vary a little between clinics, so check the key on your own report.
Words you may see on this report
Tap a word for its plain-English meaning, an example line and what it does not mean.
- Dialysis
Dialysis is a treatment that removes waste and extra fluid from the blood when the kidneys can no longer do this well enough.
- Directly observed therapy
Directly observed therapy (DOT) means a health worker watches you take each dose of a medicine, most often for tuberculosis treatment.
- Discharge summary
A discharge summary is a document written when you leave hospital that explains why you were there, what was done, and what happens next.
- Follow-up appointment
A follow-up appointment is a planned visit after a test, treatment or hospital stay to check progress and decide next steps.
- Hemodialysis
Hemodialysis is a treatment where a machine filters the blood to remove waste and extra fluid when the kidneys cannot do it well enough.
- Nil by mouth
Nil by mouth means a person should not eat or drink anything, usually before surgery, a procedure or certain tests.
- Palliative
Palliative means care or treatment focused on easing symptoms and improving quality of life, rather than on removing the illness itself.
- Referral
A referral is when one health professional asks another, usually a specialist or service, to see you or carry out a test.
- Triage
Triage is the process of sorting patients by how urgently they need care, so the most urgent are seen first.
- Vital signs
Vital signs are basic body measurements, such as heart rate, blood pressure, breathing rate, temperature and oxygen level.