Hearing loss squeezes the full loudness range into a much smaller dynamic range

Evidence

With hearing loss, the critical bands get wider, and, as a result, even our perception of music is altered. It is not just a matter of hearing or not hearing; it affects how we perceive the sounds that we are able to hear. — Toole, Floyd E, Sound reproduction- the acoustics and…, 1897 (#expands, via linked claim)

A somewhat controversial idea is related to the loudness of sounds at and near threshold for listeners with SNHL. These measurements can be difficult to make, but work by Buus and Florentine (2002) suggests that the loudness of sounds at and near threshold may be higher for listeners with SNHL than for those with normal hearing. Essentially, listeners with SNHL appear to perceive sounds near their threshold as being louder than listeners with normal-hearing. Buus and Florentine have named this particular phenomenon softness imperception. This phenomenon occurs in conjunction with the abnormally rapid growth of loudness observed for levels between 10 dB SL and about 80 dB SPL. — Jennifer Lentz, Psychoacoustics- Perception of Normal…, 845 (#expands, via linked claim)

Categorization

• XREF: connects to: Elevated hearing thresholds and lower LDLs compress loudness category spacing horizontally. — Dijk, Pim van, Physiology, Psychoacoustics and…, 2556; Outer-hair-cell damage destroys the cochlea’s compressive nonlinearity, which hearing aids try to rebuild.; Sensorineural hearing loss compresses the full loudness range into fewer decibels — Jennifer Lentz, Psychoacoustics- Perception of Normal…, 838 (+7 more)

Broader Connections

• Loudness recruitment shrinks dynamic range while preserving overall loudness #expands (0.95)
• Hearing loss widens critical bands and alters music perception itself #expands (0.85) — Toole, Floyd E, Sound reproduction- the acoustics and…, 1897
• Recruitment can explain why loudness summation is absent in noise-induced hearing loss #expands (0.80) — Professor Dr.-Ing. Hugo Fastl, Professor Dr.-Ing. Eberhard, Psychoacoustics- Facts and Models, 1960
• Near-threshold sounds may sound louder to impaired than to normal ears #expands (0.80) — Jennifer Lentz, Psychoacoustics- Perception of Normal…, 845
• Conductive and cochlear losses produce different loudness growth patterns #complicates (0.75)