Compensating hearing-impaired listeners relies on incomplete audiogram data at extreme frequencies

Evidence

For the HI test subjects, it was then ensured that in each one-third octave band the RMS level of the stimulus was at least 15 dB above hearing threshold before pinna-cue shaping. The required gain was added by designing an IIR filter in the test software to shape the stimulus. Note that the + 15-dB gain strategy was terminated at 9 kHz. In higher frequency bands, the same gain as found for 9 kHz was applied, because of the lack of audiogram information. A similar approach was used towards the lowest frequencies. — Dijk, Pim van, Physiology, Psychoacoustics and…, 3061

Categorization

• QUESTION: Does this 9 kHz cutoff for gain compensation materially affect the pinna cues under study, since pinna cues extend well into the ultrasonic range in some subjects?