Input-output function of the acoustic reflex and objective hearing aid evaluation.
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.
D000158:Acoustic Impedance Tests; D005069:Evaluation Studies as Topic; D006310:Hearing Aids; D006801:Humans; D012016:Reference Values; D012022:Reflex, Acoustic