The Acceptable Noise Level and the Pure-Tone Audiogram

PURPOSE: The vast majority of previous studies suggest that there is no relationship between the acceptable noise level (ANL) and pure-tone hearing thresholds reported as the average pure-tone hearing thresholds (pure-tone average). This study aims to explore (a) the relationship between hearing thresholds at individual frequencies and the ANL and (b) a measure of the slope of the audiogram and ANL. METHOD: Sixty-three Danish adult hearing aid users participated. Assessments were pure-tone audiogram and 3 different versions of the ANL test made monaurally at 2 different sessions. RESULTS: The findings show that low-frequency hearing thresholds and the slope of the audiogram are significantly related to all versions of the ANL. CONCLUSION: It is possible that previous studies have failed to discover a relationship between ANL and hearing thresholds due to the use of the broad 4-frequency pure-tone average. This has implications for our understanding of the ANL test.