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Audiology · AMA Method

Hearing Disability Calculator

Set the pure-tone thresholds for each ear to get the binaural hearing impairment percentage — calculated with the AMA (American Medical Association) method: 25 dB fence, 1.5%/dB, 5:1 binaural weighting.

Right ear Left ear

Thresholds in dB HL, 5 dB steps, −10 to 110. Drag a slider or use the −/+ buttons — results update live, nothing to submit.

Combined binaural disability percentage
0% Combined disability
Right ear PTA 0.0 dB 0%
Left ear PTA 0.0 dB 0%

How this is calculated — the AMA method

This calculator implements the AMA (American Medical Association) formula for binaural hearing impairment/handicap.

  1. Pure-tone average (PTA). Each ear's threshold at 500, 1000, 2000 and 4000 Hz is averaged. Some AMA/AAO applications average 3000 Hz in place of 4000 Hz — check which your board requires.
  2. 25 dB fence. The first 25 dB of loss is not counted — it's below the AMA disability threshold. Monaural % = (PTA − 25) × 1.5, floored at 0% and capped at 100%.
  3. Binaural weighting. The better ear is weighted 5× the worse ear, since it drives most of everyday hearing:
    Combined % = (5 × better-ear % + worse-ear %) ÷ 6

For clinical or medico-legal certification, confirm this matches the exact AMA formula version (frequencies, fence, rate) required by your jurisdiction or board.