This article was written in response to several requests that I describe in nontechnical language just what an audiogram is and what it means.
DEFINITION
An audiogram is a graphic representation of hearing capacity. It shows the minimum intensity of sound that the ear can detect. It measures the loudness of sound necessary for hearing the tones in the musical scale (between 32 or 64, and 8,192 or 16,384 double vibrations) and at the musical intervals of one-third, one-half or one octave apart, depending on the setting of the apparatus. A line joining the points plotting the amount of sound required at each frequency is called the curve of hearing. This curve shows peaks or hollows more or less in proportion to the relative magnitude of the sounds required for the thresholds of hearing. The varying amounts of sound necessary in different ears for minimum audibility at each frequency