Loudness and the acoustic reflex.

Abstract

Fifteen subjects with unilateral sensorineural hypacusis were tested to determine the sound intensity eliciting the acoustic reflex in normal and impaired ears and the sound intensity in the normal ear which is equal in loudness to the intensity eliciting the acoustic reflex in the abnormal ear. Results suggest that loudness is not the mediating factor in the acoustic reflex, justifying the suggestion that low sensation level reflexes observed in hearing-impaired patients should not be considered an unequivocal indicant of recruitment.