TEL-T05: Audiogram tool
Speech banana audiogram
See an illustrative speech region on a normal audiogram grid, then plot thresholds copied from one ear of an existing hearing test.
Important
This is a visual teaching aid. The region and your overlay do not predict word recognition or diagnose hearing loss.
Technical chart
Frequency and hearing level
250 Hz to 8 kHz: -10 to 100 dB HL
No thresholds entered. The illustrative region remains visible.
How to read it
A speech region is context, not a result.
dB HL is not dB SPL
dB HL is a frequency-referenced scale used for audiograms. It sets normal hearing near 0 dB HL at each test frequency. dB SPL describes physical sound pressure, so the same dB SPL value does not have the same hearing meaning at every frequency.
Distance changes level
The familiar conversational speech region is often described for a talker and listener about 1 meter apart. More distance makes speech softer at the listener, while less distance makes it louder. A fixed shaded shape cannot represent every listening distance.
Vocal effort changes level
Quiet, conversational, raised, and loud speech do not occupy the same levels. Greater vocal effort generally moves speech energy toward larger dB values on this chart. A person can also hear a sound without recognizing every speech cue.
Language changes the pattern
Languages distribute vowels, consonants, rhythm, and emphasis differently. Talker age, talker voice, microphone, room, and measurement method also matter. A speech banana is not a universal map of a person's language access.
Why published speech banana charts vary
Many charts place a speech-shaped region on an audiogram, but they do not all use the same recordings, talkers, distances, vocal efforts, languages, reference scales, or drawing rules. The result can look precise even when the underlying choices are different.
The 2023 peer-reviewed paper Common Sounds Audiograms: Quantitative Analyses and Recommendations examined 36 common sounds audiograms and reported wide variation in the shape and placement of speech and sound elements, as well as in the counseling information supplied with them. Its recommendations are a useful reason to label this page's region as illustrative.
The UCSF pediatric audiology explanation describes how common sounds can be placed on an audiogram to support counseling. That kind of visual can help explain audibility, but it still cannot replace speech testing or a clinical interpretation.
What this overlay cannot tell you
It cannot predict word recognition, speech-in-noise performance, language development, listening effort, or whether a person will benefit from a hearing device. It also cannot diagnose the cause, type, or severity of hearing loss. Those questions require the complete audiogram, case history, and appropriate clinical tests.
For the symbols and axes on a clinical audiogram, read How to read an audiogram. For a numeric summary of selected pure-tone thresholds, use the pure-tone average calculator.
How to use the chart
- Copy one ear's air-conduction thresholds at 250, 500, 1000, 2000, 4000, and 8000 Hz from an existing audiogram.
- Enter only values you know. Blank fields stay off the overlay, and the chart does not connect across missing frequencies.
- Use the gold region as a rough visual reference only. Do not read the boundary as the point where speech becomes understandable.
Questions readers ask
Speech banana questions
- What is a speech banana on an audiogram?
- It is an illustrative region showing where some conversational speech energy is often placed by frequency and level. It is not a speech test, word-recognition score, or diagnosis.
- Does the plotted overlay predict word recognition?
- No. The overlay compares copied pure-tone thresholds with a simplified region. It cannot predict word recognition, speech-in-noise performance, language development, or a diagnosis.
- Why do published speech banana charts vary?
- Charts can use different source measurements, talkers, vocal efforts, distances, languages, labels, and plotting choices. The 2023 peer-reviewed analysis found wide variation among common sounds audiograms.
- What is the difference between dB HL and dB SPL?
- dB HL is a frequency-referenced hearing-level scale used for audiograms. dB SPL describes physical sound pressure. The same dB SPL value does not have the same hearing meaning at every frequency.
Educational use only.
Discuss audiogram results with a licensed audiologist or physician. Sudden hearing loss is a medical emergency and needs prompt clinical care.