Abstract
An adaptive, two-interval, forced-choice procedure (Jesteadt, 1980) was used to obtain ABLB and modified-MLB loudness-growth functions for a partially masked, 2000-Hz tone burst. Subjects were six normally hearing adults. Steinberg and Gardner (1937) and Stevens and Guirao (1967) showed that the comparison of the loudness of a tone in quiet with the loudness of the same tone partially masked produced “recruiting” loudness-growth functions from normally hearing listeners. For the ABLB condition in the present study, a pulsed, wideband masking noise was presented to only one ear. The level of the tone in noise was varied and compared with the level of the tone in quiet presented alternately to the opposite ear. In the modified-MLB procedure, the tone was presented monaurally, alternately in quiet and in the presence of a pulsed, wideband masking noise to the same ear. Two noise levels (3 and 33 dB N0) and eight standard-tone levels were used. The loudness-growth functions obtained binaurally and monaurally were virtually identical. The results of these experiments validate Jesteadt's adaptive procedure for the measurement of loudness growth. A comparison of the ABLB and MLB data suggests that a similar, partial-masking procedure could be used to develop a monaural, single-frequency, loudness-balance test for clinical use. [Work supported by DRF and NINCDS.]
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