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What Can
My Child Hear?
What your
child is able to hear obviously depends on their level
of hearing loss and will greatly affect how you deal with their hearing
loss.
The three
charts on this page give you an idea of what your child can and cannot
hear and provide a point of reference for various speech & environmental
sounds.
Comparison
of the Frequency and Intensity of Various Environment and Speech Sounds
This is a
good chart to show where normal sounds fall within the hearing spectrum.
You can click on the picture for a large, printable version.
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Comparison
of the Frequency and Intensity of Various Environment and Speech
Sounds
Generally speaking, if a given sound is below the level
of your child's loss, he or she may not hear it.
Click on the picture to enlarge. |
The
Relative Intensity of Speech Sounds
This is a
good chart to show the relative intensity level of 33 speech sounds. You
can click on the picture for a large, printable version.
 |
The
Relative Intensity of Speech Sounds
Generally speaking, if a given sound is below the level of your
child's loss, he or she may not hear it.
Click on the picture to enlarge. |
Noise
Levels In Our Environment
Below are
some of the common sounds you hear daily and their relative levels of
intensity.
Points
of Reference *measured in dBA or decibels
- 0 The
softest sound a person can hear with normal hearing
- 10 normal
breathing
- 20 whispering
at 5 feet
- 30 soft
whisper
- 50 rainfall
- 60 normal
conversation
- 110 shouting
in ear
- 120 thunder
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Home
-
50 refrigerator
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50 - 60 electric toothbrush
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50 - 75 washing machine
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50 - 75 air conditioner
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50 - 80 electric shaver
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55 coffee percolator
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55 - 70 dishwasher
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60 sewing machine
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60 - 85 vacuum cleaner
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60 - 95 hair dryer
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65 - 80 alarm clock
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70 TV audio
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70 - 80 coffee grinder
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70 - 95 garbage disposal
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75 - 85 flush toilet
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80 pop-up toaster
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80 doorbell
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80 ringing telephone
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80 whistling kettle
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80 - 90 food mixer or processor
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80 - 90 blender
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80 - 95 garbage disposal
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110 baby crying
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110 squeaky toy held close to the ear
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135 noisy squeeze toys |
Work
-
40 quiet office, library
-
50 large office
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65 - 95 power lawn mower
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80 manual machine, tools
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85 handsaw
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90 tractor
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90 - 115 subway
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95 electric drill
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100 factory machinery
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100 woodworking class
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105 snow blower
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110 power saw
-
110 leaf blower -
120 chain saw, hammer on nail
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120 pneumatic drills, heavy machine
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120 jet plane (at ramp)
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120 ambulance siren
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125 chain saw
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130 jackhammer, power drill
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130 air raid
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130 percussion section at symphony
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140 airplane taking off
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150 jet engine taking off
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150 artillery fire at 500 feet
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180 rocket launching from pad |
Recreation
-
40 quiet residential area
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70 freeway traffic
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85 heavy traffic, noisy restaurant
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90 truck, shouted conversation
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95 - 110 motorcycle
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100 snowmobile
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100 school dance, boom box
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110 disco
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110 busy video arcade
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110 symphony concert
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110 car horn
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110 -120 rock concert
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112 personal cassette player on high
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117 football game (stadium)
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120 band concert
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125 auto stereo (factory installed)
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130 stock car races
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143 bicycle horn
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150 firecracker
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156 cap gun -
157 balloon pop
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162 fireworks (at 3 feet)
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163 rifle
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166 handgun
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170 shotgun |
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