What category does this threshold fall in

Common questions

Can this tool test my hearing?

No, and nothing on the internet can. A hearing threshold is produced by an audiometric test using calibrated equipment in a controlled acoustic environment, administered by a licensed professional. This tool takes numbers you have already copied from such a test and tells you what they are called on two published scales. That is a lookup, not a measurement.

Why does it use only three frequencies?

Because the severity categories are conventionally applied to a pure tone average of 500, 1000 and 2000 hertz, which is the region most of the information in speech occupies. Applying a category to a single high frequency threshold instead is a common way to reach an answer that sounds far worse than the audiogram supports, since high frequencies are usually the poorest on an age related chart.

Why do the two scales give different answers?

They were written for different purposes. The World Health Organization grades are designed for population reporting and put the boundary of unimpaired hearing at 20 dB HL. The clinical convention used in routine United States practice treats up to 25 dB HL as normal in adults. Both appear here because quoting one without naming it is a genuine source of confusion.

Does the result tell me whether I need a hearing aid?

No. That decision is made from the shape of a complete audiogram, from whether the two ears differ, and above all from where you actually have difficulty, not from one averaged number. An audiologist weighs all of that. A category is a label for a range of thresholds, not a recommendation about a device.

What if my two ears give different results?

Run each ear separately, and then take the difference seriously. A marked asymmetry between the ears is investigated rather than amplified, and it is one of the standard reasons to see a clinician promptly. Over the counter hearing aids are not intended for hearing loss that affects one ear substantially more than the other.