title: Input-output function of the acoustic reflex and objective hearing aid evaluation.
abstract: Hearing aid evaluation procedures should mainly consider hearing properties in the most comfortable loudness intensity range. This applies to both subjective and objective methods. With regard to this aspect, input-output characteristics of the acoustic reflex were investigated for speech noise and narrow-band noise (0.5, 1, 2 and 4 kHz) stimulation. In these terms, hearing aid evaluation can be understood as an approximation of pathological input-output functions to the normal range by suitable hearing aids. After normal input-output characteristics have been established, we report on first experiences with this fitting procedure. Frequency-specific elicitation of the stapedial reflex with and without hearing aid enables a compensation for hearing impairment in accordance with frequency-dependent dynamic properties.
mesh_terms: D000158:Acoustic Impedance Tests; D005069:Evaluation Studies as Topic; D006310:Hearing Aids; D006801:Humans; D012016:Reference Values; D012022:Reflex, Acoustic