Nearly 30 years after its previous version, the International Bureau of Audiophonology (BIAP) has just published its new Recommendation 02/2 on the classification of the degree of hearing loss.
This new classification introduces several significant changes: a graded scale from 0 to 6, an assessment that is now conducted on a per-ear basis, and a hearing threshold considered “within normal limits” set at less than 20 dB HL.
Beyond this classification system, the BIAP sheds new light on the issue: the audiometric grade describes hearing sensitivity, but does not fully capture either the disability experienced by the individual or their communication difficulties. Two patients with comparable hearing thresholds may therefore experience very different functional consequences. In practice, this classification must therefore be integrated into a more comprehensive evaluation that takes into account, in particular, speech understanding, listening situations in noise, and the difficulties reported by the patient.
Several experts from the reConnect Institute contributed to the work of the international commission that issued this recommendation, demonstrating our teams’ involvement in the discussions that are driving changes in audiology practices. Among them are: Hung Thai Van, Arnaud Coez, Fabrice Giraudet, Sylvette Weiner-Vachet,
This recommendation is only a first step. The BIAP plans to continue this work with additional recommendations that incorporate, in particular, speech audiometry and other listening situations, in order to gradually expand the assessment beyond tonal sensitivity alone.
More information:
Work based on the WHO classification developed in the 1980s, *International Classification of Impairments, Disabilities, and Handicaps*
9241541261_eng.pdf
Excerpt from an article by the National College of Audiology: The Classification of Hearing Loss Is Evolving
