Audiogram and Other Hearing Test Results

[makeyourownluck]

Wait so your tinnitus is 5 dB? Lol.

Unnecessary.

Yes according to the audiologist it is

Out of interest, how was the dB of your tinnitus measured? I never knew they could do this. I tried hearing aids once and the highest setting didn't cover my tinnitus, but apart from that, I have no idea.

 

[AnthonyMcDonald]

What do you mean by that?

I honestly don't think you're doing yourself any favors by hovering around this forum. It doesn't matter what hearing loss you have. @Brian Newman and @DocTors_94 have perfect hearing yet the worst tinnitus and noxacusis I have ever seen.

Just protect your ears, don't do loud stuff and you'll be fine

 

[Stuart-T]

Out of interest, how was the dB of your tinnitus measured?

I tried measuring my own using a dB meter app.

Sadly it was over measuring the dB level. 80 dB is supposed to be loud music and yet my app is measuring 80 dB on my laptop speakers playing at half volume.

My idea is to use a white noise generator on YouTube and set the level rough where my tinnitus is - and see how the meter reads.

Frankly 5 dB is less than a whisper.

 

[jsalisbury]

Curious what others think of this as well. I think my tinnitus seems to be middle ear related but when I went to the Audiology/ENT, I got the usual "do you want some Xanax/Valium/TRT treatment?" and out the door. Question is, does the tympanometry seem correct and are both ears usually the same? Check the attachment "202107.jpg". The weird one is the left, which tends to be the problematic/unstable side. They said the wonkiness was just the machine noise, but I don't tend to see it all over the place in other people?

I got a more recent test as well, which shows 'improved' hearing, but was likely just the result of the test setup since it was in the normal range for both. Unfortunately they didn't do a tympanometry for this one. Check the attachment "202208.jpg".

I guess I should also note, it started in March in a foreign country (I was deployed) so the allergies were likely different and I was in a moldy/dusty military hotel. I had some red phlegm and severe congestion around the same time as a possible acoustic trauma. I never had any real symptoms of an acoustic trauma besides the onset of tinnitus, i.e. no muffled hearing, hyperacusis, TTTS, etc. However, I can induce TTTS if I think about it, but that seems to be the psychological factor of it.

Thanks.

 

[GregCA]

I think my tinnitus seems to be middle ear related

What makes you think that?

Your hearing looks quite good from the audiogram you posted (I'm jealous), but audiograms don't tell the whole story (see "hidden hearing loss" and synaptopathy).

What about the acoustic trauma: did you or did you not suffer an acoustic trauma? I can't really tell from what you wrote. What was it?

 

[jsalisbury]

What makes you think that?

Your hearing looks quite good from the audiogram you posted (I'm jealous), but audiograms don't tell the whole story (see "hidden hearing loss" and synaptopathy).

What about the acoustic trauma: did you or did you not suffer an acoustic trauma? I can't really tell from what you wrote. What was it?

It is all over the place and fluctuates by the minute and seems to be extremely responsive to body posture. For example, sitting down with head forward it will slowly increase over time, but does not do the same with standing. During cardio it whooshes/pounds/screeches with my cadence and ground strike. It gets worse 30 minutes after eating like clockwork. it can be 100% silent or extremely loud and it seems to correlate with the feeling of head pressure and nasal congestion.

I was doing a self hearing test when I was bored and had earbud headphones at full volume at 17 kHz so maybe 115 dB at the eardrum and remember feeling a sharp stabbing pain and that's the first time I remember hearing tinnitus constantly at the extreme level. But it also coincided with possible COVID-19 exposure in an extremely tight workplace and I did have heavy congestion around the same time. So I'm not sure what actually kicked it off.

For what it's worth my tinnitus is atonal and very periodic. I've never had a real ring like everyone seems to describe. And even from the beginning it could be silent if I stood up and moved around for a period of time. Also, putting my fingers in my ears quiets it for a few seconds every time.

 

[CW Dragon]

Hi everyone,

Can you help me interpret / read my audiogram? I wonder if I've got noise-induced hearing damage?

My ENT says it's not noise-induced but that it's ETD. He's talking about an air bone gap, and the difference between bone conduction and air conduction. He also says my eardrums are retracted and something in my nose is inflamed.

Just want to make sure we're not overlooking any noise-induced damage, as I can see a dip at 4 kHz for the air conduction? Also, the bone conduction slightly dips after 6 kHz? Could this still be damage from noise?

My tinnitus is matched at 6700 Hz 5 dB.

Looking forward to hearing what you make of this audiogram. Thanks so much!

View attachment 51262

I'd recommend getting a different audiogram from someone else. I had two from the same health care organization and got different results, my more recent one being better (in hindsight, maybe I should stay with them, just for comparison purposes and not looking at absolute numbers).

 

[CW Dragon]

I have slight tinnitus in both ears. Right ear is probably around a stable volume 3000 Hz, and left ear is more "awry and lively" - higher frequency. The first audiogram is from 2 days after the trauma that mainly affected my left ear, the second audiogram is about a month later.

I plan on getting an extended audiogram hopefully soon, after my ear fullness has subsided.

 

[CRGC]

I just want to put this up here that audiograms are not 100% accurate. Anybody who's curious to see how bad I am read my story. Severe noxacusis and pretty bad tinnitus with distortions and a perilymph fistula. Yet audiograms say I'm ok! Check it out. If anybody can beat this, I'll give you $100.

View attachment 48866

View attachment 48867

View attachment 48868

This is crazy. Did you get DPOAEs done by any chance?

 

[Brian Newman]

Did you get DPOAEs done by any chance?

No I haven't. I should have but more testing was just going to mess me up more. Damn nightmare.

 

[Strawberryblonde]

I had an audiogram done in June 2022 (attached). I was pretty much told my hearing is fine and was then refered to a hearing therapist audiologist who says my tinnitus is not noise induced despite headphone usage but more likely stress induced (I can never relax myself or my mind).

I haven't had an extended test done as I was told it won't help me.

My tinnitus is worse on the left side and that's where I suffer from a crunching TMJD jaw pain (I have a night guard but that doesn't seem to be helping).

Hopefully I will be refered to an ENT specialist but not sure what can be offered or helped at this point as I've had it so long. Just thought I'd add to this thread because why not eh.

 

[TeslaGuy]

Hola! I just had my audiogram. Last time was 4 years ago and back then frequencies up to 8 kHz were 5-10 dB but it was not in soundproof space. This time it was. I was a little nervous before going but here are the results.

What do you think? I am turning 28 in a couple of months.

 

[Juan]

Hola! I just had my audiogram. Last time was 4 years ago and back then frequencies up to 8 kHz were 5-10 dB but it was not in soundproof space. This time it was. I was a little nervous before going but here are the results.

What do you think? I am turning 28 in a couple of months.

Perfect audiogram. There's nothing wrong there.

 

[TeslaGuy]

Perfect audiogram. There's nothing wrong there.

Yes, I guess I just have to believe it too. I was also discussing the tinnitus measurement with the audiologist today. She said that younger audiologists don't even know how to do it nowadays. Before I left the office, she said that almost everyone experiences tinnitus at some point in their lives.

 

[Juan]

I was also discussing the tinnitus measurement with the audiologist today. She said that younger audiologists don't even know how to do it nowadays. Before I left the office, she said that almost everyone experiences tinnitus at some point in their lives.

Tinnitus measurement: the audiometric machine beeps at different frequencies and intensities until they find the frequency and volume that best matches your tinnitus. Simple as that...

 

[ErikaS]

Thought I'd share my ultra-high frequency audiogram results. These should be done WAY more often at tinnitus onset when up to 8 kHz shows no hearing loss, especially if you are younger. We should also not have to jump through hoops and ask repeatedly to see an audiologist/TRT specialist of some kind to get it done. If this had been caught right at the beginning post my ear infection and steroid intervention used, who knows where I would be.

O line is my right ear.

 

[Jonno02]

Has anybody managed to get a high frequency hearing test in the UK? I had a normal one last week and was told 'you have perfect hearing' - my main tinnitus tone is at 4-4.6 kHz so not sure why I have that if I have no hearing loss there.

I definitely have hearing loss above 8 kHz but haven't managed to find somewhere to do above 8 kHz.

 

[Nick47]

This is my hearing loss. Most people over 35 years old have lost a lot of hearing over 10 kHz. No real point in extended hearing audiograms. If you disagree, then let me know why. I was told that most hearing aids only help a little at 6,000 - 8,000 Hz, let alone >8000 Hz despite the claims.

Open to reasons?

Male, 48.

 

[Jonno02]

This is my hearing loss. Most people over 35 years old have lost a lot of hearing over 10 kHz. No real point in extended hearing audiograms. If you disagree, then let me know why. I was told that most hearing aids only help a little at 6,000 - 8,000 Hz, let alone >8000 Hz despite the claims.

Open to reasons?

Male, 48.

View attachment 53418

Wow Nick, what's the reason for your ears being so different to each other?

I'm just a bit confused. Maybe I'm misinformed, but I thought one's tinnitus frequency was generally where they have hearing loss. My audiologist told me that I have 'the hearing of an 18 year old' despite being twice that age and having an intrusive tone at 4 kHz. I've always thought my 4 kHz tinnitus is due to blasting my ears with music, but could also be TMJ or ETD.

My only real reason for wanting to know where my hearing loss above 8 kHz is, is so I can do some residual inhibition as I find it incredibly hard to match very high frequency tones. I change my mind on what frequency they are all the time.

 

[ErikaS]

This is my hearing loss. Most people over 35 years old have lost a lot of hearing over 10 kHz. No real point in extended hearing audiograms. If you disagree, then let me know why. I was told that most hearing aids only help a little at 6,000 - 8,000 Hz, let alone >8000 Hz despite the claims.

Open to reasons?

Male, 48.

View attachment 53418

I think with the hearing loss seen in those frequencies, I agree you do not need an extended audiogram. I would push for extended if someone had very high frequency tinnitus onset, is younger, and within normal audiogram limits up to 8 kHz.

Have you tried a hearing aid at all yet?

 

[Nick47]

Wow Nick, what's the reason for your ears being so different to each other?

I was diagnosed with labyrinthitis in 2015. 8 kHz was 70 dB then, but the drop off has caused extreme reactive tinnitus that's spread to my left ear. Yes, I can see the habituation idea with the extended audiogram.

Have you tried a hearing aid at all yet?

Hearing aids useless with severe/profound loss and don't work well at higher frequencies.

 

[ErikaS]

I was diagnosed with labyrinthitis in 2015. 8 kHz was 70 dB then, but the drop off has caused extreme reactive tinnitus that's spread to my left ear. Yes, I can see the habituation idea with the extended audiogram.

Hearing aids useless with severe/profound loss and don't work well at higher frequencies.

Did you check out @Darrenb111's story and how his audiologist went about using the hearing aid for him? He had labyrinthitis and lost hearing in one ear at around 5,000 Hz and up. He dealt with bad hyperacusis, reactivity, and distortions. The audiologist actually turned down higher ranges on the hearing aid and turned up lower to mid ranges. He said it drastically helped his hyperacusis and reactivity and was a pivotal point. Just thought to share.

 

[Nick47]

Did you check out @Darrenb111's story and how his audiologist went about using the hearing aid for him? He had labyrinthitis and lost hearing in one ear at around 5,000 Hz and up. He dealt with bad hyperacusis, reactivity, and distortions. The audiologist actually turned down higher ranges on the hearing aid and turned up lower to mid ranges. He said it drastically helped his hyperacusis and reactivity and was a pivotal point. Just thought to share.

Hey @ErikaS, yes, I have read his story. I can't exactly remember his audiogram and how it compares to mine but maybe I should look again. Ironically the tinnitus wasn't bad at all until last year when I lost a bit more hearing.

 

[Juan]

Thought I'd share my ultra-high frequency audiogram results. These should be done WAY more often at tinnitus onset when up to 8 kHz shows no hearing loss, especially if you are younger. We should also not have to jump through hoops and ask repeatedly to see an audiologist/TRT specialist of some kind to get it done. If this had been caught right at the beginning post my ear infection and steroid intervention used, who knows where I would be.

O line is my right ear.

View attachment 53408

To be honest, that test is useless. It only shows there is hearing loss in the very high frequencies that are not important for functional hearing, and are not important to understanding speech-in-noise either.

It only shows the curve is down at the high frequencies and could progress to lower frequencies over the years. Hearing loss above 4 kHz is not very important. The most important are the "conversational frequencies".

This is my hearing loss. Most people over 35 years old have lost a lot of hearing over 10 kHz. No real point in extended hearing audiograms. If you disagree, then let me know why. I was told that most hearing aids only help a little at 6,000 - 8,000 Hz, let alone >8000 Hz despite the claims.

You're right. Only the conversational frequencies are important. Functional hearing.

 

[ErikaS]

To be honest, that test is useless. It only shows there is hearing loss in the very high frequencies that are not important for functional hearing, and are not important to understanding speech-in-noise either.

It only shows the curve is down at the high frequencies and could progress to lower frequencies over the years. Hearing loss above 4 kHz is not very important. The most important are the "conversational frequencies".

This test was not useless to me in the slightest. I'm very aware those frequencies are not needed for speech, but this damage to my right ear is what caused my tinnitus. My first tinnitus sound was 12.5 kHz high-pitched electric hiss in my right ear, and is still with me.

So, what you call useless is a confirmed answer to what caused my tinnitus.

Before this test, many in my life doubted that an ear infection would cause any such damage and half listened to me when I would say "I think I had damage to really high frequencies in my right ear".

So no, not useless to me when so many want to know why and what caused their tinnitus to come on.

Also not useless when another young person shows up with very high-frequency tinnitus onset but shows within normal hearing up to 8 kHz and therefore doesn't receive any steroid intervention, meanwhile there could be higher frequency hearing loss/damage causing the tinnitus that could warrant steroid intervention and possibly prevent it (the tinnitus) from getting worse.

 

[Nick47]

You're right. Only the conversational frequencies are important. Functional hearing.

I was very disappointed when my tinnitus overwhelmed me a year ago, along with pain hyperacusis and sound reactive tinnitus. I asked for an extended audiogram. Denied. At the time I thought it was important. There will be exceptions on Tinnitus Talk but most people over 30-35 will have hearing loss above 9,000 - 10,000 Hz, let alone up to 20,000 Hz. Think of those neighbourhoods that use high-frequency sounds to dispel youths, yet adults cannot hear it. Most of us love music, and a youth of discos, festivals, concerts and cinema experiences with aging wipe those higher frequencies out. Most do not get tinnitus and can hear fine.

So my initial dismay at not getting the extended audiogram was unfounded. Besides there not being any hearing aids that work beyond 8,000 Hz, it would be pointless as they could do nothing about it anyway.

You could possibly attempt some residual inhibition at the hearing loss identified, but, well, who knows...

 

[Juan]

This test was not useless to me in the slightest. I'm very aware those frequencies are not needed for speech, but this damage to my right ear is what caused my tinnitus. My first tinnitus sound was 12.5 kHz high-pitched electric hiss in my right ear, and is still with me.

So, what you call useless is a confirmed answer to what caused my tinnitus.

Before this test, many in my life doubted that an ear infection would cause any such damage and half listened to me when I would say "I think I had damage to really high frequencies in my right ear".

So no, not useless to me when so many want to know why and what caused their tinnitus to come on.

Also not useless when another young person shows up with very high-frequency tinnitus onset but shows within normal hearing up to 8 kHz and therefore doesn't receive any steroid intervention, meanwhile there could be higher frequency hearing loss/damage causing the tinnitus that could warrant steroid intervention and possibly prevent it (the tinnitus) from getting worse.

I am not aware about your tinnitus journey, but where I live, in Spain, basically you can go to the pharmacy and get steroids without any prescription.

If tinnitus for instance appears after acoustic trauma (very loud noise), the cause is pretty obvious, and one only has to take corticosteroids...

Anyway, they are likely to make no difference at all.

I was very disappointed when my tinnitus overwhelmed me a year ago, along with pain hyperacusis and sound reactive tinnitus. I asked for an extended audiogram. Denied. At the time I thought it was important. There will be exceptions on Tinnitus Talk but most people over 30-35 will have hearing loss above 9,000 - 10,000 Hz, let alone up to 20,000 Hz. Think of those neighbourhoods that use high-frequency sounds to dispel youths, yet adults cannot hear it. Most of us love music, and a youth of discos, festivals, concerts and cinema experiences with aging wipe those higher frequencies out. Most do not get tinnitus and can hear fine.

So my initial dismay at not getting the extended audiogram was unfounded. Besides there not being any hearing aids that work beyond 8,000 Hz, it would be pointless as they could do nothing about it anyway.

You could possibly attempt some residual inhibition at the hearing loss identified, but, well, who knows...

I had very good hearing, and then severe hyperacusis, so was able to appreciate all the subtleties in music, the textures, the different layers, single out the instruments in a song, etc.

Over the years my hearing has been progressively getting worse, and I saw how music sounded "blurred" and how it was harder to perceive and appreciate the higher tones (the high frequencies that people tend to lose in the first place, before hearing keeps getting worse.)

High-frequencies may be important for professional musicians and audiophiles, but are not important to get by in our daily lives, this is, to function and communicate.

 

[ErikaS]

This obviously isn't an audiogram, but I wanted to follow up with this as I showed my extensive audiogram earlier in the thread and there was some back and forth on if I really experienced SSHL in my right ear at very high frequencies.

This is just one imaging result from the qEEG I had back in December, so 3 months post ear infection and tinnitus onset. It speaks for itself in my opinion. I don't know how much can be seen, but obvious abnormal activity in the right temporal lobe, and symptoms of defect in this area include: auditory sequencing problems and auditory processing. Then in my further write up it spoke about this could also indicate a brain injury to the area and/or could be a sign of neural tissue damage.

Just wanted to share!

 

[BB23]

I got two useless audiograms.

The second one shows some dips at lower frequencies which didn't exist before. Let me assure you those dips were caused by my blaring bilateral + inside head tinnitus that didn't allow me to hear the tones properly.

My tinnitus wasn't like this when I took the first test. As you can see, I have perfect hearing. I hear 20 kHz at -5 dB and listening to that tone in the booth actually caused me very bad physical pain. The other tones, not at all. I also have a shallow tympanogram due to contracted tensor tympani muscles in both ears. DPOAEs are perfect as well. I also gave myself a digits in noise test and I score better than my bro at the same settings who doesn't have any tinnitus at all.

I thought my case was due to ototoxic antibiotics use. But all the papers I read plus the doctor I talked to said inner hair cells aren't destroyed before the outer hair cells in ototoxicity. And if I have synaptic damage, it should be very mild as I have no trouble understanding speech? Maybe I do have trouble in noisy places compared to before but the tests are fine. So it's either the synapses or brain damage due to antibiotics + Mirtazapine for me.

Too scared to get an ABR test.

 

[GregCA]

As you can see, I have perfect hearing.

The way I look at it is that you have a "perfect audiogram" (almost). Clearly your hearing isn't perfect as you suffer from tinnitus. A perfect audiogram is a necessary condition to perfect hearing, but not sufficient. Audiograms have important limitations, many of which you can find mentioned in this very forum. I do envy your hearing acuity, though.

I do not see bone conduction testing in the audiograms. Did they not perform it?

I guess it's the root cause that is difficult to pinpoint. You may find this flowchart useful to try to narrow it down.

Good luck!