Symmetrical hearing loss means the same extent of hearing loss in both ears.

• A. Same extent in both ears
• B. Left ear only
• C. Right ear only
• D. Total deafness

Answer: (A)

Symmetrical hearing loss means the same extent of hearing loss in both ears. In practice, this means the audiograms for the two ears show similar thresholds across the same frequencies, so the degree of impairment is essentially the same in each ear. If the loss is confined to one ear, or if the levels differ noticeably between ears, the loss is not symmetrical. While having no hearing in either ear would be symmetric in degree, the clearest way to express the idea is that the impairment is equal in both ears.