Fluctuating noise is a more sensitive test for hearing loss than continuous noise

Evidence

Obviously, the subjects with hearing loss have more difficulty to understand monosyllables presented in “valleys” of the fluctuating noise (cf. Fig. 16.38d). The “benefit” for the fluctuating noise of 7 dB for normal hearing subjects shrinks to 3 dB for the subjects with 40 dB hearing loss at 4 kHz. Since the reduction in performance of subjects with hearing loss versus subjects with normal hearing is larger for the time-varying background noise, it is recommended to use a fluctuating background when testing speech in noise for subjects with hearing loss. — Professor Dr.-Ing. Hugo Fastl, Professor Dr.-Ing. Eberhard, Psychoacoustics- Facts and Models, 1999

Categorization

Category: Factual Claims

• SEED: This is a concrete, practical recommendation for audiometry protocol that could anchor an article on why standard speech-in-noise testing needs updating.

Related

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• TFS sensitivity predicts speech-in-noise ability among normally hearing adults (similarity 0.79)
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• Hearing loss impairs frequency selectivity beyond what stimulus level differences explain. (similarity 0.79)
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• Hearing-impaired listeners vary more than normal hearers in quiet threshold, complicating averaging (similarity 0.78)