An important measurement in hearing is “frequency.” This quantifies the pitch of sounds from very low (like thunder) to very high (like a squeak or whistle). People often experience hearing loss at different frequencies—so even if you listened to a range of sounds at exactly the same volume, you wouldn’t be able to hear them all.

In order to determine the degree of a person’s hearing loss, a hearing care professional will give a series of tests to determine the softest level you can hear a tone in a particular frequency range. This becomes your personal hearing “prescription.”