The dynamic range spans from sound that is just audible (hearing threshold) to uncomfortably loud sound (uncomfortable loudness level).
|
 |
 |
The ear is a very sensitive organ, and hearing can range from detection of very faint sounds to detection of very loud sounds.
Average dynamic range for people with normal hearing
The hearing threshold level, also referred to as the HTL, expresses the level at which a sound is just audible.
The intensity level at which sound, including speech, is perceived to be most com-fortable is called the most comfortable loudness level (MCL). The MCL is often determined, without any actual measurement, to be approximately mid-way be-tween the hearing threshold and the uncomfortable loudness level.
The uncomfortable loudness level, UCL, marks the limit of the intensity level that is acceptable to a listener.
The dynamic range of human hearing is the difference between the hearing threshold level (HTL) and the uncomfortable loudness level (UCL). This difference is expressed in decibel (dB).
Hearing loss narrows the dynamic range |
Whereas the dynamic range of a person with normal hearing is more than 100 dB, the dynamic range of people with hearing loss is typically narrower. This is es-pecially the case in sensorineural hearing losses. If the dynamic range is very narrow, the difference from sound that is just barely audible to uncomfortably loud sound is very small. The technical term for this is recruitment.
SEE ALSO:
Hearing thresholdSensorineural hearing lossSensitivity to sound
