Conductive Hearing Loss:    Hearing loss that is associated with damage to the outer or middle ear structures (hammer, anvil, & stirrup bones). Typically the volume of speech is affected with a conductive hearing loss, but once loud enough, speech will be clear.

Sensorineural Hearing Loss:    Hearing loss that is associated with damage to the inner ear (cochlea) or auditory nerve. Both the volume and clarity of speech will be affected by a sensorineural hearing loss. Hearing aids can help make speech loud enough but some distortion may remain from inner ear and auditory nerve damage.

Mixed Hearing Loss:    A combination of sensorineural and conductive hearing losses

The audiogram is a graph of your hearing sensitivity by pitch. The audiogram is used to determine how hearing and understanding speech may be affected by your hearing sensitivity, and which type of hearing aid might be appropriate for you.