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Most comfortable listening level as a function of age
1Department of Psychology, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada.
Ergonomics
|July 1, 1994
Abstract:
The Most Comfortable Listening Level (MCLL) was determined for a running speech signal in a sample of 799 subjects, ranging in age from 17 to 92 years of age. The MCLL increased monotonically with increasing chronological age, in a non-linear relationship. Before the age of 40 MCLL increased approximately one-third of a dB per annum, while after the age of 65 MCLL increased by more than one half dB per year. Over the 75 year age range MCLL rose by 34 dB. Confirming earlier reports, MCLL was also found to be related to hearing sensitivity. Some implications for the design of sound systems are suggested.