El audiograma muestra una hipoacusia de cuarenta decibeles.

El audiograma means the audiogram. It uses the definite article because the sentence is talking about a specific audiogram, not just any audiogram.

• el audiograma = the audiogram
• un audiograma = an audiogram

In medical contexts, Spanish often uses the definite article when the object is already known from context.

Because grammatical gender in Spanish is not determined only by the last letter. While many words ending in -a are feminine, audiograma is masculine.

That is why it is:

• el audiograma
• not la audiograma

Many words ending in -ma that come from Greek are masculine in Spanish, such as:

• el problema
• el sistema
• el programa
• el audiograma

Here, muestra means shows.

It comes from the verb mostrar = to show.

So:

• El audiograma muestra... = The audiogram shows...

This is the third-person singular present form of mostrar, matching the singular subject el audiograma.

Because the subject is singular: el audiograma.

• el audiograma muestra = the audiogram shows
• los audiogramas muestran = the audiograms show

The verb must agree with the subject in number.

Hipoacusia is a medical term meaning hearing loss or reduced hearing.

It is feminine, so Spanish uses:

• una hipoacusia
• not un hipoacusia

The ending -a here does match the usual feminine pattern.

Using una presents it as a case or instance of hearing loss: a hearing loss of forty decibels.

In technical or medical Spanish, this kind of structure is common:

• una hipoacusia de cuarenta decibeles
• una lesión de...
• una pérdida de...

If you removed the article and said just hipoacusia, the sentence would sound less natural in this context.

Here de expresses the amount or degree.

So:

• una hipoacusia de cuarenta decibeles = a hearing loss of forty decibels

This is a very common Spanish pattern:

• una temperatura de 39 grados
• una distancia de diez kilómetros
• una profundidad de dos metros

So de often corresponds to English of in measurements.

Because Spanish numbers do not usually become plural.

So you say:

• cuarenta decibeles
• not cuarentas decibeles

The noun after the number carries the plural marking when needed:

• un decibel
• dos decibeles
• cuarenta decibeles

Both decibeles and decibelios are used in Spanish.

In much of Latin America, decibeles is very common and sounds completely natural. Decibelios is also correct and may be more common in some regions or registers.

So these are both acceptable:

• cuarenta decibeles
• cuarenta decibelios

If your focus is Latin American Spanish, decibeles is especially useful to know.

This is a very normal Spanish structure:

• subject + verb + object

So:

• El audiograma = subject
• muestra = verb
• una hipoacusia de cuarenta decibeles = object

English uses the same basic order here:

• The audiogram shows a hearing loss of forty decibels

Spanish could sometimes change the order for emphasis, but this version is the most neutral and standard.

The h in Spanish is silent.

So hipoacusia is pronounced approximately like:

• ee-po-ah-KOO-see-ah

A few helpful notes:

• hi sounds like ee
• poa is pronounced smoothly across syllables
• the stress falls on cu: hipoacuSIA? Actually no—the stress is on si? Let's clarify:

Because hipoacusia ends in a vowel, the stress naturally falls on the second-to-last syllable: -si-.

So the pronunciation is approximately:

• ee-po-ah-KOO-sya is not quite right
• better: ee-po-ah-KOO-see-ah? Also not ideal for stress

A clearer breakdown is:

• hi-po-a-CU-sia

So the stress is on CU: hipoacusia.

Not really. Hipoacusia is a medical or technical word. In everyday conversation, people may be more likely to say something simpler, depending on the context, such as:

• pérdida de audición = hearing loss
• problemas de audición = hearing problems

But in a medical report or test result, hipoacusia is perfectly normal and appropriate.