Conductive Loss (Mild)
Mild hearing loss caused by something blocking or dampening the middle ear, such as fluid, earwax buildup, or an ear infection. The experience is similar to wearing earplugs: sounds are softer overall but not distorted. This type of loss is often treatable.
Summary
- Severity
- Mild26 dB HL
- Most loss at
- 500 Hz · 30 dB
Degree of the worse ear, averaged over all eight frequencies, on the scale used by U.S. audiologists (ASHA)
Pure-tone average (PTA)
- Left ear
- 30dB
- Mild
- Right ear
- 30dB
- Mild
Flat 26/26 dB (conductive)
What’s a pure-tone average?
Pure-tone average is the quietest tone each ear can just hear, averaged across three pitches central to speech (500 Hz, 1 kHz, and 2 kHz). It’s the single number U.S. audiologists use to sum up an audiogram. 15 dB or lower is normal hearing, and every 10 dB higher means sounds need to be about twice as loud to be heard. Internationally, the World Health Organization averages four pitches, adding 4 kHz, so where high pitches have more loss its number comes out higher.
Thresholds by frequency
| Hz | L | R |
|---|---|---|
| 250 | 25 | 25 |
| 500 | 30 | 30 |
| 1k | 30 | 30 |
| 2k | 30 | 30 |
| 3k | 28 | 28 |
| 4k | 25 | 25 |
| 6k | 22 | 22 |
| 8k | 20 | 20 |