title: Restoration of loudness summation and differential loudness growth in hearing-impaired listeners.
abstract: When normal-hearing (NH) listeners compare the loudness of narrowband and wideband sounds presented at identical sound pressure levels, the wideband sound will most often be perceived as louder than the narrowband sound, a phenomenon referred to as loudness summation. Hearing-impaired (HI) listeners typically show less-than-normal loudness summation, due to reduced cochlear compressive gain and degraded frequency selectivity. In the present study, loudness summation at 1 and 3 kHz was estimated monaurally for five NH and eight HI listeners by matching the loudness of narrowband and wideband noise stimuli. The loudness summation was measured as a function both of noise bandwidth and level. The HI listeners were tested unaided and aided using three different compression systems to investigate the possibility of restoring loudness summation in these listeners. A compression system employing level-dependent compression channels yielded the most promising outcome. The present results inform the development of future loudness models and advanced compensation strategies for the hearing impaired.
authors.affiliation: Starkey Hearing Research Center, 2150 Shattuck Avenue, Suite 408, Berkeley, California 94704, USA. olaf_strelcyk@starkey.com
authors.forename: Olaf
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Strelcyk
authors.forename: Nazanin
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Nooraei
authors.forename: Sridhar
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Kalluri
authors.forename: Brent
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Edwards
mesh_terms: D000161:Acoustic Stimulation; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D001299:Audiometry; D001309:Auditory Threshold; D003051:Cochlea / Q000503:physiopathology*; D012048:Correction of Hearing Impairment / Q000523:psychology*; D004867:Equipment Design; D006310:Hearing Aids; D006801:Humans; D016014:Linear Models; D008144:Loudness Perception; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D019986:Persons with Hearing Disabilities / Q000523:psychology / Q000534:rehabilitation*; D011312:Pressure; D011571:Psychoacoustics; D020127:Recovery of Function; D012815:Signal Processing, Computer-Assisted; D013016:Sound