Paradigms

Two and a half weeks ago, on January 7th, I had the first audiogram I've had since my college days. I had to have it in order to prove my eligibility for interpreting services for my credential classes this spring. When my hearing was last laid bare on paper for all to survey, my numbers read as follows:
Left ear: 85 dB HL
Right ear: 90 dB HL

Well, on the 7th, I sat in a booth that was mind-numbingly familiar in its sameness with thousands of others across the country. I sat there with headphones slapped on my cranium, and I pushed a button thousands of times. Once it was done, I had a mild headache from all the noise that'd been blasted into my ears. The audiologist came to me with a paper familiar to all people who have had a so-called "hearing loss" for a long time, newly filled out and charted.
The numbers this time?
Left ear: 80 dB HL
Right ear: 80 dB HL

Well, as far as I'm concerned, the state of my hearing has declined, and this ticks me off. *devilish grin*