The full loudness range squeezes into a smaller dynamic range for impaired listeners.

Evidence

Yet, there is a similar range of loudness encompassed across that same range — from about 0.02 sones to about 100 sones. It is important to recognize that the dB level associated with loudness discomfort does not change with SNHL. Listeners with mild to moderately severe hearing losses generally have LDLs very similar to listeners with normal hearing. Although LDLs can be highly variable across listeners (even with normal hearing), we do not consider listeners with sensorineural hearing loss to be more sensitive to high-level sounds. Thus, the full range of loudness — from very soft to very loud — is squeezed into a dynamic range much smaller than that of normal-hearing listeners. The consequence, then, is a steeper slope for the function relating loudness to stimulus level in dB. — Jennifer Lentz, Psychoacoustics- Perception of Normal…, 848

Categorization

• DEFINE: Explains the mechanism by which recruitment produces steeper loudness-growth slopes.