Discomfort threshold
The discomfort threshold or discomfort limit , abbreviated US , UG ( uncomfortable level , UCL , or loudness discomfort level , LDL ), is a technical term from audiology and describes the sound pressure (usually given as the weighted sound pressure level ) of an acoustic signal from which hearing is perceived as uncomfortably loud . It is part of the measurement of a complete tone audiogram .
The level values depend in each case on the individual sensation, they are usually around 90 to 110 dB HL for people with normal hearing and are also dependent on the frequencies . The level values are around 20 dB below the pain threshold . If the discomfort threshold is also measured when measuring a tone audiogram, this is usually done for fewer frequencies than for the hearing threshold . The reproducibility is therefore worse than when determining the hearing threshold.
A range of the most comfortable loudness (MCR, most comfortable range , or MCL, most comfortable level ) can be defined between the hearing threshold and the discomfort threshold .
In the presence of a hearing impairment , the discomfort threshold does not have to be shifted to the same extent as the hearing threshold to a higher volume. There may therefore be a restricted dynamic range compared to normal hearing . This is the case with recruitment and hyperacusis . The discomfort threshold can even be lower here. The audiometric determination of the discomfort threshold is therefore important for the medical diagnosis of the hearing (especially if hydrops cochleae , Menière's disease and hyperacusis are suspected ) and for hearing aid fitting .
Individual evidence
- ↑ J. Sheldrake, PU Diehl, R. Schaette: Audiometric characteristics of hyperacusis patients. In: Frontiers in neurology. Volume 6, 2015, p. 105, doi : 10.3389 / fneur.2015.00105 , PMID 26029161 , PMC 4432660 (free full text).
