A revised model of loudness perception applied to cochlear hearing loss
Related Experiment Video
Updated: Aug 29, 2026

Modified Experimental Conditions for Noise-Induced Hearing Loss in Mice and Assessment of Hearing Function and Outer Hair Cell Damage
Published on: February 10, 2023
Brian C J Moore1, Brian R Glasberg
1Department of Experimental Psychology, University of Cambridge, Downing Street, Cambridge CB2 3EB, UK. bcjm@cus.cam.ac.uk
Abstract:
We previously described a model for loudness perception for people with cochlear hearing loss. However, that model is incompatible with our most recent and most satisfactory model of loudness for normal hearing. Here, we describe a loudness model that is applicable to both normal and impaired hearing. In contrast to our earlier model for impaired hearing, the new model correctly predicts: (1) that a sound at absolute threshold has a small but finite loudness; (2) that, for levels very close to the absolute threshold, the rate of growth of loudness is similar for normal ears and ears with cochlear hearing loss; (3) the relation between monaural and binaural threshold and loudness; (4) recent measures of equal-loudness contours. Like the earlier model, the new model can account for the loudness recruitment and reduced loudness summation that are typically associated with cochlear hearing loss.
Related Concept Videos
Perceiving Loudness, Pitch, and Location
Place theory, or place coding, suggests that different pitches are heard because various sound waves activate specific locations along the cochlea's basilar membrane. The brain determines the pitch of a sound by identifying...
The Cochlea
Auditory Perception
Sound Intensity Level
The human ear can perceive an extensive range of sound intensity, necessitating the use of the logarithmic scale to define a physical quantity—the intensity level. It is a ratio of two intensities and hence a...
Auditory Pathway
When viewed cross-sectionally, the cochlea reveals the scala vestibuli and scala tympani flanking the...
Hair Cells

