{"id":1367,"date":"2021-06-04T20:03:06","date_gmt":"2021-06-05T00:03:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/hscky.org\/?p=1367"},"modified":"2021-06-04T20:03:09","modified_gmt":"2021-06-05T00:03:09","slug":"what-is-normal-hearing","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/hscky.org\/what-is-normal-hearing\/","title":{"rendered":"What Is Normal Hearing?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>\u201cNormal hearing\u201d is a term commonly thrown around by audiologists to better explain what those with hearing loss can and cannot hear. Below is a look at the different degrees of hearing loss and what exactly is considered normal.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">How Sounds Are Measured<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\"><figure class=\"alignright size-large is-resized\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/hscky.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/ear-exam-hearing-loss-1280x853.jpg\" alt=\"Woman gets an ear exam.\" class=\"wp-image-1369\" width=\"337\" height=\"224\" srcset=\"https:\/\/hscky.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/ear-exam-hearing-loss-1280x853.jpg 1280w, https:\/\/hscky.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/ear-exam-hearing-loss-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/hscky.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/ear-exam-hearing-loss-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/hscky.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/ear-exam-hearing-loss-scaled.jpg 2048w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 337px) 100vw, 337px\" \/><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>There are two measurements when it comes to sound: Hertz (Hz) and decibels (dB).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nps.gov\/subjects\/sound\/understandingsound.htm\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Hertz is the measurement of a sound\u2019s frequency<\/a> or pitch. This is how many times per second a soundwave repeats itself. A drum and a bullfrog produce lower pitched sounds while a whistle and a cricket produce high-pitched sounds. Humans with <a href=\"https:\/\/www.hearingreview.com\/inside-hearing\/research\/what-is-normal-hearing-for-older-adults\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">normal hearing<\/a> can hear sounds between 20 and 20,000 Hz.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Decibels are the measurement of how loud a sound is. The following list, which was put together by the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nidcd.nih.gov\/health\/noise-induced-hearing-loss\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders (NIDCD)<\/a> includes the average decibel ratings of familiar sounds:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul><li>Breathing: 10 dB.<\/li><li>Normal conversation: 60-70 dB.<\/li><li>Movie theater: 74-104 dB.<\/li><li>Dirt bikes racing: 80-110 dB.<\/li><li>Sporting event at <a href=\"https:\/\/ukathletics.com\/sports\/2017\/8\/7\/kroger-field.aspx?id=530\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Kroger Field<\/a>: 94-110 dB.<\/li><li>Sirens: 110-129 dB.<\/li><li>Fireworks: 140-160 dB.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>Anything measuring 85 dB or more can cause permanent damage to the delicate hair cells within the inner ear.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Degrees of Hearing Loss<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Hearing loss can be broken down into five different degrees, depending on which sounds you cannot hear. These degrees include:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul><li>Slight \u2013 cannot hear sounds below 15 to 20 dB.<\/li><li>Mild \u2013 cannot hear sounds below 26 to 40 dB.<\/li><li>Moderate \u2013 cannot hear sounds below 40 to 69 dB.<\/li><li>Severe \u2013 cannot hear sounds below 70 to 94 dB.<\/li><li>Profound \u2013 cannot hear sounds lower than 95 dB.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Hearing Loss Testing<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Determining your exact degree of hearing loss is crucial, as your audiologist will use this information to create a unique treatment plan. To do so they will conduct a series of hearing tests, which may include:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul><li>Pure tone testing.<\/li><li>Bone conduction testing.<\/li><li>Speech testing.<\/li><li>Tympanometry.<\/li><li>Acoustic reflex testing.<\/li><li>Auditory brainstem response.<\/li><li>Otoacoustic emissions.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>To learn more about the different types of hearing loss or to schedule an appointment with a hearing professional, contact The Hearing &amp; Speech Center today.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Learn More About Hearing<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul><li><a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/hscky.org\/signs-you-should-treat-your-hearing-loss\/\" target=\"_blank\">Signs You Should Treat Your Hearing Loss<\/a><\/li><li><a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/hscky.org\/is-your-untreated-hearing-loss-costing-you\/\" target=\"_blank\">Is Your Untreated Hearing Loss Costing You?<\/a><\/li><li><a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/hscky.org\/what-type-of-hearing-aid-should-you-choose\/\" target=\"_blank\">What Type of Hearing Aid Should You Choose?<\/a><\/li><\/ul>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>\u201cNormal hearing\u201d is a term commonly thrown around by audiologists to better explain what those with hearing loss can and cannot hear. Below is a look at the different degrees of hearing loss and what exactly is considered normal. How Sounds Are Measured There are two measurements when it comes to sound: Hertz (Hz) and&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1369,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"none","_seopress_titles_title":"","_seopress_titles_desc":"\u201cNormal hearing\u201d is a term commonly thrown around by audiologists to better explain what those with hearing loss can and cannot hear.","_seopress_robots_index":"","schema":"","fname":"","lname":"","position":"","credentials":"","placeID":"","no_match":false,"name":"","company":"","review":"","address":"","city":"","state":"","zip":"","lat":"","lng":"","phone1":"","phone2":"","fax":"","mon1":"","mon2":"","tue1":"","tue2":"","wed1":"","wed2":"","thu1":"","thu2":"","fri1":"","fri2":"","sat1":"","sat2":"","sun1":"","sun2":"","hours-note":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[14],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/hscky.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1367"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/hscky.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/hscky.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hscky.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hscky.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1367"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/hscky.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1367\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1371,"href":"https:\/\/hscky.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1367\/revisions\/1371"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hscky.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1369"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/hscky.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1367"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hscky.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1367"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hscky.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1367"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}