Inner ear hair cell damage accumulates before any measurable hearing threshold rise

Evidence

Jamieson (2015) and Compton (2022) provide detailed accounts of the challenging situation audio professionals find themselves in. The problem is that damage can be accumulating in the inner ear hair cell structures long before measurable threshold elevation is apparent. Notions that experience can overcome hearing loss is true only to the extent that many tasks can become routine, and hearing only the basic elements can suffice some of the time. The problem is that all of the time not everything, good or bad, is heard. — Toole, Floyd E, Sound reproduction- the acoustics and…, 1892

Categorization

• QUESTION: The sub-threshold damage mechanism — hair cell loss below audiometric detection — is worth chasing to understand the gap between psychoacoustic test results and reported listening experience.