title: Audiometric earphone discomfort level and hearing aid saturation sound pressure level for a 90 decibel input signal (SSPL90) as measured in the human ear canal.
abstract: The acoustical problems involved in matching the saturation sound pressure level for a 90 dB input signal (SSPL90) of a hearing aid to individual discomfort level were investigated. The real ear SPL (RE/SSPL90) produced by a supra-aural earphone used when measuring uncomfortable loudness (UCL), and RE/SSPL90 produced by three different hearing aids at 90 dB SPL input, were measured for nine subjects, using a miniature microphone technique, and compared to the corresponding coupler levels used when matching hearing aid maximum output to UCL. It was found that a hearing aid often gives about 5 dB, and sometimes 10 dB, higher RE/SPLs than the earphone, if the hearing aid output levels, as measured in a 2-cc coupler (IEC126), are equal to the earphone output levels as measured in a 6-cc coupler (NBS9A). It is recommended that a safety margin of at least 5 dB be used in the preliminary fitting when matching hearing aid SSPL90 to the patient's UCL, converted to dB SPL.
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001299:Audiometry / Q000379:methods*; D001301:Audiometry, Pure-Tone / Q000295:instrumentation / Q000379:methods*; D001309:Auditory Threshold; D006310:Hearing Aids / Q000592:standards*; D006319:Hearing Loss, Sensorineural / Q000175:diagnosis*; D006801:Humans; D012001:Hyperacusis / Q000175:diagnosis