Hearing Impairment Severity Scale

Aka: Hearing Impairment Severity Scale, Hearing Loss Classification

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II. Grading: Degree of Hearing Loss in better ear

  1. Normal Hearing (<25 dB)
    1. Can hear normal breathing or whispering from 5 feet (1.5 meters) away
  2. Mild Hearing Loss (26-40 dB)
    1. Difficult to hear soft speech, speech from a distance, quiet library sounds or speech over background noise
  3. Moderate Hearing Loss (41-55 dB per Clark/CDC, 41-60 per WHO)
    1. Difficulty Hearing regular speech (even at close distance) or refrigerator sound
  4. Moderately Severe Hearing Loss (56-70 per Clark/CDC)
    1. Extreme difficulty Hearing normal conversation
  5. Severe Hearing Loss (71-90 dB per Clark/CDC, 61-80 per WHO)
    1. Unable to hear most conversational speech, can only hear loud speech or loud sounds
  6. Profound Hearing Loss (>91 dB per Clark/CDC, >81 per WHO)
    1. Loud sounds (e.g. car horn, factory machines) may be heard primarily as vibrations

III. Resources

  1. Hearing Impairment Grades (WHO)
    1. https://www.who.int/pbd/deafness/hearing_impairment_grades/en/

IV. References

  1. Clark (1981) ASHA 23(7):493-500 [PubMed]
  2. Michels (2019) Am Fam Physician 100(2): 98-108 [PubMed]

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