Hearing impairment natural history, complications and prognosis
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Hearing impairment Microchapters |
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Diagnosis |
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Treatment |
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Case Studies |
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Hearing impairment On the Web |
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American Roentgen Ray Society Images of Hearing impairment |
Overview
Natural History
Complications
Prognosis
Quantification of hearing loss
The severity of hearing loss is measured by the degree of loudness, as measured in decibels, a sound must attain before being detected by an individual. Hearing loss may be ranked as mild, moderate, severe or profound. It is quite common for someone to have more than one degree of hearing loss (i.e. mild sloping to severe). The following list shows the rankings and their corresponding decibel ranges:
- Mild:
- for adults: between 25 and 40 dB
- for children: between 15 and 40 dB
- Moderate: between 41 and 55 dB
- Moderately severe: between 56 and 70 dB
- Severe: between 71 and 90 dB
- Profound: 90 dB or greater