Dynamic Loudness Model (DLM) for Normal and Hearing-Impaired Listeners

Whereas dynamic loudness models for normal hearing listeners have existed for a long time, to date for hearing-impaired listeners only models for predicting loudness of stationary sounds are available. Therefore, a dynamic loudness model (DLM) is proposed which predicts loudness of both stationary and non-stationary sounds for normal and hearing-impaired listeners. In contrast to known stationary loudness models for hearing-impaired listeners, in the DLM only the specific loudness function has to be modified for modeling suprathreshold effects such as recruitment and reduced spectral and temporal resolution. In order to fit the model to an individual hearing loss, audiometric data (threshold in quiet and categorical loudness scaling) are used. A comparison of experimental psychoacoustic data with model predictions shows that the proposed dynamic loudness model accounts for numerous aspects of loudness perception such as spectral and temporal integration of loudness and recruitment. These results for the DLM suggest that it also is possible to model other hearing sensations such as sharpness, roughness and fluctuation strength for hearing-impaired listeners.