Audiometrically normal listeners may still have substantial hidden hearing loss

Evidence

Liberman et al. (2016) elaborates on the situation with evidence that college-age students can exhibit hidden hearing loss. Bernstein and Trahiotis (2016) conclude that “listeners whose high-frequency monaural hearing status would be classified audiometrically as being normal or ‘slight loss’ may exhibit substantial and perceptually meaningful losses of binaural processing”. These are troubling findings. — Toole, Floyd E, Sound reproduction- the acoustics and…, 1902

Categorization

• XREF: Connects to earlier chapters on spatial hearing and binaural cues; also relates to the immersive-audio applications noted in the next paragraph.
• DEFINE: Introduces ‘hidden hearing loss’ as a concept distinct from standard audiometric impairment.