The hearing system becomes less nonlinear at higher input levels.

Evidence

The largest difference between the data expected from the regular cubic distortion and the measured data, is that the cancellation level eventually decreases with increasing levels of the lower primary. This decrement, for example in Fig. 14.4a with L2 = 60 dB and L1 larger than 65 dB, indicates that the hearing system acts less nonlinearly for higher input levels, i.e. indicating the existence of a distortion source that cannot be described by simple regular nonlinear characteristics. — Professor Dr.-Ing. Hugo Fastl, Professor Dr.-Ing. Eberhard, Psychoacoustics- Facts and Models, 1561

Categorization

• QUESTION: What mechanism makes the cochlea act less nonlinearly as input level rises — is this the compressive nonlinearity of basilar-membrane response?
• XREF: Connect to the compressive nonlinearity / active cochlear amplifier literature, where low-level sounds get more gain than high-level ones.