Threshold is a statistical artifact, not a sharp boundary of audibility

Evidence

The anechoic chamber in this building is rated to minus 9.4 decibels, A-weighted, 69,000 times lower in intensity than the quiet of the conference room and eight times lower than zero decibels. Orfield reminds me that zero decibels is not an absolute measurement but simply the point below which a person with unimpaired hearing no longer perceives sound. — George Michelsen Foy, Zero Decibels, 473 (#exemplifies, via linked claim)

Categorization

• XREF: connects to: Glimpses can fall below audibility threshold for hearing-impaired listeners; Hearing thresholds add almost no predictive power beyond age and encoding measures; A psychophysical detection threshold does not ensure subjective meaningfulness of the change (+4 more)

Related

• Glimpses can fall below audibility threshold for hearing-impaired listeners (similarity 0.87)
• Zero decibels is a perceptual threshold, not a true physical absence of sound (similarity 0.87)
• Hearing thresholds add almost no predictive power beyond age and encoding measures (similarity 0.85)
• Thresholds are statistical detection probabilities, not absolute cutoffs (similarity 0.84)
• Absolute threshold is the minimum detectable sound level without external noise (similarity 0.84)
• Near-threshold sounds may sound louder to impaired than to normal ears (similarity 0.83)
• Echo thresholds vary widely and do not correlate with audiometric thresholds in hearing loss. (similarity 0.83)
• Absolute hearing threshold is a statistical construct, defined at 50% detection probability. (similarity 0.82)
• Echo-fusion thresholds vary widely among hearing-impaired listeners regardless of audiometric thresholds. (similarity 0.82)
• The audiogram measures only detection thresholds, so it misses everyday speech-in-noise ability. (similarity 0.81)
• Perceptual thresholds blur because listener internal noise varies by personality (similarity 0.81)
• Threshold in quiet affects loudness mainly for faint sounds (similarity 0.80)
• Threshold estimates reflect both ear sensitivity and listener response bias (similarity 0.80)
• Objective brainstem measures may detect functional hearing changes before permanent threshold shifts appear. (similarity 0.80)
• Hearing loss correlates weakly with precedence-effect echo thresholds. (similarity 0.80)

Broader Connections

• Zero decibels is a perceptual threshold, not a true physical absence of sound #exemplifies (0.75) — George Michelsen Foy, Zero Decibels, 473
• Response bias shifts audiometric thresholds away from a patient’s true hearing abilities #complicates (0.75)