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Education

Degrees Of Hearing Loss

DescriptionWhat Can Be Heard
Normal Hearing
(0 – 25 dB)
Hears all speech sounds. Able to understand speech, even at soft conversational levels.
Mild Hearing Loss
(26 – 45 dB)
Vowel sounds will be heard. Unvoiced consonants such as f, s, t, and p, may be undetectable, especially if a high frequency loss is present. May have difficulty hearing faint or distant speech. May experience difficulty understanding speech in group situations or when background noise is present.
Moderate Hearing Loss
(46 – 70 dB)
Communication will be significantly affected. Does not understand most speech sound at a normal conversational level. Will be unaware of many environmental sounds.
Severe Hearing Loss
(71 – 90 dB)
hears no speech sounds of normal conversation. May hear a loud voice at very close range.
Profound Hearing Loss
(91+ dB)
Only very loud environmental sounds will be heard. may be aware of some vibrations.