Pure Tone Audiogram

Introduction

Data interpretation from a pure-tone audiogram (PTA) will almost always feature in the MRCS (ENT) OSCE. Understanding how to interpret a PTA will take more than just practice questions, so we have taken the time to explain the background first.

Hearing impairment

It is important to distinguish between a hearing impairment and a hearing disability, as not everyone with hearing loss will have a disability. Normal hearing has a pure tone average of 0-24 dB on a PTA. The pure tone average is usually calculated as an average of the four major frequencies of normal hearing (0.5, 1, 2 and 4 kHz).