Critical Bands in Sensori-Neural Hearing Loss

Using a loudness balancing technique the relative loudness of a pair of tones as compared with a 2 kHz single tone has been evaluated for normal-hearing subjects and those with cochlea deafness. Deaf subjects show a reduced loudness effect which might suggest an extensive widening of the critical band mechanism. Consideration is given to the implications of objective measurements where a much wider critical bandwidth is found in normal-hearing subjects and to an explanation in terms of a deranged loudness function only.