Hearing glossary

The words you'll hear at a hearing appointment, in plain English. 40 terms.

A

Assistive listening device: Equipment that brings sound straight to your ears or hearing aids, such as TV streamers, personal amplifiers, FM systems and hearing loops. Useful with or without hearing aids.
Audiogram: The chart of your hearing test results. It shows the softest sound you can hear (in decibels) at each pitch (in hertz), usually with O for the right ear and X for the left.
Audiologist: A licensed hearing health professional who diagnoses and treats hearing loss, tinnitus and some balance problems. Most US audiologists now hold a Doctor of Audiology (Au.D.) degree.
Au.D.: Doctor of Audiology, the clinical doctorate that is now the entry-level degree for audiologists in the United States.

Behind-the-ear (BTE) hearing aid: A hearing aid that sits behind the ear and sends sound through a tube to an earmold or dome. Durable and powerful enough for many degrees of hearing loss.
Bilateral hearing loss: Hearing loss in both ears. Unilateral hearing loss affects one ear and should be checked by a clinician to rule out medical causes.
Bone conduction: Sound that reaches the inner ear by vibrating the skull bones instead of traveling through the ear canal. Hearing tests compare air and bone conduction to tell types of hearing loss apart.

Cerumen: The medical name for earwax. It protects and cleans the ear canal; it only needs removing when it builds up and causes symptoms.
Cochlea: The snail-shaped part of the inner ear where hair cells turn sound vibrations into nerve signals.
Cochlear implant: A surgically implanted device that stimulates the hearing nerve directly. It's an option for people with severe to profound hearing loss who get limited benefit from hearing aids.
Conductive hearing loss: Hearing loss caused by something blocking sound in the outer or middle ear, such as earwax, fluid or a problem with the eardrum or middle-ear bones. Often medically treatable.

Decibel (dB): The unit for loudness. On an audiogram, dB HL (hearing level) shows how loud a sound had to be before you heard it; higher numbers mean more hearing loss.
Degree of hearing loss: How much hearing loss you have, usually described as slight, mild, moderate, moderately severe, severe or profound based on your audiogram thresholds.
Dome: The small soft silicone tip on many receiver-in-canal hearing aids. Open domes let natural sound in; closed and power domes seal the canal more.

ENT (otolaryngologist): A medical doctor who specializes in the ears, nose and throat, including medical and surgical treatment of ear disease.

Feedback: Whistling from a hearing aid when amplified sound leaks out and is picked up again by the microphone. Usually fixed with a better fit or a settings change.
Frequency (Hz): The pitch of a sound, measured in hertz. Hearing tests typically check from 250 Hz (low pitch) to 8,000 Hz (high pitch).

Hearing aid trial period: The window after purchase when you can return hearing aids, sometimes with a fee. Many states set a minimum trial or return period by law; ask for it in writing.
Hearing instrument specialist (HIS): A state-licensed professional who tests hearing for the purpose of fitting and selling hearing aids. Also called a hearing aid dispenser in some states.
Hearing loop (induction loop): A wire around a room that transmits sound directly to hearing aids or cochlear implants with a telecoil, common in theaters, churches and service counters.
Hyperacusis: Reduced tolerance to everyday sounds, so ordinary noise feels uncomfortably loud or painful.

In-the-ear (ITE) hearing aid: A custom hearing aid that fills the outer part of the ear. Smaller custom styles include in-the-canal (ITC), completely-in-canal (CIC) and invisible-in-canal (IIC).

Mixed hearing loss: A combination of conductive and sensorineural hearing loss in the same ear.

Noise-induced hearing loss: Permanent hearing damage caused by loud sound, either a single very loud event or repeated exposure over time. It's preventable with hearing protection.
NPI (National Provider Identifier): A unique 10-digit number the federal government assigns to US health care providers and organizations. DrAuditory's listings are built from the public NPI registry.

Occlusion effect: The hollow or 'head in a barrel' sound of your own voice when the ear canal is sealed by a hearing aid or earmold.
OTC hearing aid: An over-the-counter hearing aid sold directly to adults with perceived mild to moderate hearing loss, without a prescription or fitting appointment, under FDA rules that took effect in 2022.
Otoscopy: Looking into the ear canal and at the eardrum with a lighted instrument (an otoscope). It's usually the first step of a hearing evaluation.

Presbycusis: Age-related hearing loss: gradual sensorineural hearing loss in both ears that usually affects high pitches first.
Pulsatile tinnitus: A rhythmic sound in the ear that beats in time with your pulse. Unlike ordinary tinnitus, it warrants medical evaluation.
Pure-tone audiometry: The core part of a hearing test: you listen to beeps at different pitches and press a button or raise a hand when you hear them.

Real-ear measurement: A check that measures, with a tiny microphone in your ear canal, whether your hearing aids are delivering the amount of sound they were programmed to. Professional best-practice guidelines recommend it.
Receiver-in-canal (RIC) hearing aid: The most common hearing aid style today: a small case behind the ear with a thin wire to a speaker that sits in the ear canal. Also called receiver-in-the-ear (RITE).

Sensorineural hearing loss: Hearing loss from damage to the inner ear (cochlea) or hearing nerve. It's usually permanent and is the type most often treated with hearing aids.
Speech-in-noise test: A test of how well you understand speech with background noise, which often matches real-life complaints better than a beep test alone.
Sudden sensorineural hearing loss (SSNHL): Rapid hearing loss, usually in one ear, over hours to three days. It's a medical emergency: prompt treatment improves the chance of recovery.

Telecoil (T-coil): A small coil in some hearing aids that picks up sound from hearing loops and compatible phones.
Tinnitus: Hearing a sound, such as ringing, buzzing or hissing, that has no outside source. It's common and often occurs alongside hearing loss.
Tympanometry: A quick test that changes the air pressure in your ear canal to check how the eardrum and middle ear are moving.

Word recognition score: The percentage of words you repeat correctly at a comfortable loudness during a hearing test. It helps predict how much hearing aids will help.