Article
Loudness perception predictions of realistic signals for listeners with normal and impaired hearing
Search Medline for
Authors
Published: | September 12, 2022 |
---|
Outline
Text
Hearing-aid users frequently report dissatisfaction with loudness perception. A possible reason for this is the individually varying amount of binaural broadband loudness summation. This aspect of gain individualization is not considered by typical hearing aid fitting rules. Loudness perception might be pleasant in the laboratory for soft and medium signals, but not for loud sounds as the individual differences of the binaural broadband loudness perception increase with level.
Therefore, it is reasonable to investigate loudness perception of realistic broadband sounds. This study examines loudness perception of everyday signals with two different hearing aid fitting strategies, the NAL-NL2 [1] and trueLOUDNESS [2]. Data of aided hearing-impaired listeners are compared to data of normal-hearing listeners to quantify the loudness compensation of hearing aids. The subjective data are compared to predictions of the Dynamic Loudness Model [3]. 24 different everyday signals were used for assessment of loudness perception, representing a variety of levels and spectra.
Empirical data showed that loudness perception is completely restored to normal with trueLOUDNESS but not with NAL-NL2 prescription rule. The main differences across the prescription rules were observed for signals with high levels. The loudness model shows discrepancies between predictions and measured data resulting in a moderate correlation.
A long version of this article is available here:
https://www.dga-ev.com/fileadmin/dga2022/074.pdf
References
- 1.
- Keidser G, Dillon H, Flax M, Ching T, Brewer S. The NAL-NL2 Prescription Procedure. Audiol Res. 2011 May;1(1):e24. DOI: 10.4081/audiores.2011.e24
- 2.
- Oetting D, Hohmann V, Appell JE, Kollmeier B, Ewert SD. Restoring Perceived Loudness for Listeners With Hearing Loss. Ear Hear. 2018 Jul/Aug;39(4):664-678. DOI: 10.1097/AUD.0000000000000521
- 3.
- Chalupper J, Fastl H. Dynamic loudness model (DLM) for normal and hearing-impaired listeners. Acta Acustica united with Acustica. 2002;88(3):378-386.