Relation between loudness in categorical units and loudness in phons and sones

Abstract

Data are presented on the relation between loudness measured in categorical units (CUs) using a standardized loudness scaling method (ISO 16832, 2006) and loudness expressed as the classical standardized measures phon and sone. Based on loudness scaling of narrowband noise signals by 31 normal-hearing subjects, sound pressure levels eliciting the same categorical loudness were derived for various center frequencies. The results were comparable to the standardized equal-loudness level contours. A comparison between the loudness function in CUs at 1000 Hz and the standardized loudness function in sones indicates a cubic relation between the two loudness measures

Categorical loudness scaling and equal-loudness contours in listeners with normal hearing and hearing loss

“…1. The labels used at the boundary categories, "can't hear" and "too loud," are different from those used in the ISO (2006) and the Heeren et al (2013) study. The ISO recommends "not heard" and "extremely loud," while Heeren et al used "inaudible" and "too loud."…”

“…ELCs are functions in the SPL/frequency domain that connect points whose coordinates represent pure tones judged to be equally loud (ISO, 2003). Our technique for conversion of CLS data to phons and construction of ELCs for participants with normal hearing is similar to the procedure used by Heeren et al (2013). Constructing ELCs allows for a comparison of CLS data to loudness level measured using traditional loudness-matching methods (e.g., ISO, 2003;Suzuki and Takeshima, 2004).…”

Effects of Threshold Adjustment on Speech Perception in Nucleus Cochlear Implant Recipients

“…For example, the grand mean hearing dynamic range across electrodes for 10 adults using the Nucleus ® CI system (Cochlear Limited, Sydney, Australia) was 11.5 dB (Theelen-van den Hoek et al 2014). The equivalent acoustic dynamic range for normal-hearing adults is about 90 dB (Heeren et al 2013) when using the same loudness boundaries (threshold to "loud-very loud") to define the range. To manage the larger input dynamic range, CI systems incorporate acoustic signal processing before the final acoustic-to-electric transform function.…”

Effect of spectral overlap on the echo suppression threshold for single reflection conditions

“…While the reproduction level was kept the same for all conditions, comparing the frequency regions covered by the bandpass stimuli to recent subjective loudness ratings (Heeren et al, 2013) shows, that listeners are most sensitive to loudness in the range covered by BP3. This may indicate that echo suppression is particularly weak in this region, because this condition is perceived as being louder than the other bandpass conditions.…”