[Category loudness scaling to evaluate sound perception in cochlear and retro-cochlear lesions].
Category loudness scaling was used to investigate the loudness perception of 31 patients with a cochlear hearing loss (Group 1) by comparing the results with those found in 15 patients with retro-cochlear hearing loss caused by an acoustic neuroma (Group 2). Narrow-band noise signals at four different frequencies (0.5 to 4.0 kHz) were used. In the cochlear hearing-impaired subjects the slopes of the level-loudness functions tended to increase with increasing hearing loss, indicating positive recruitment, whereas the much shallower slopes associated with retro-cochlear lesions were presumed to reflect negative recruitment. The graphic representation of the iso-loudness functions revealed a different dynamic range between Group 1 and 2 with the ability to discriminate small differences of stimulus levels reduced in the presence of an acoustic neuroma. Category loudness scaling has been shown to be a valuable tool describing the individual perception of sound in a qualitative and quantitative manner. Furthermore, the method can be employed as an indicator of recruitment without any restrictive preconditions. For this reason the categorical loudness scaling can be a desirable method for supplementing the audiological diagnosis of a retro-cochlear hearing impairment through the frequency-specific description of a usable hearing-field and its dynamic range.
Nieschalk
M
M
Universitäts-HNO-Klinik, Münster.
Schmäl
F
F
Delank
K W
KW
Stoll
W
W
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D001299:Audiometry; D001933:Brain Stem / Q000503:physiopathology; D003056:Cochlear Nerve / Q000503:physiopathology; D016057:Evoked Potentials, Auditory, Brain Stem / Q000502:physiology; D005260:Female; D006313:Hearing Loss, Central / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000503:physiopathology; D006319:Hearing Loss, Sensorineural / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000503:physiopathology; D006801:Humans; D008144:Loudness Perception / Q000502:physiology; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009464:Neuroma, Acoustic / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000503:physiopathology; D012000:Recruitment Detection, Audiologic; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity