ABSTRACT
This chapter explores the amount of smearing is expressed in terms of the smeared bandwidth. Sensorineural hearing loss has four obvious effects: an elevation of threshold, a reduction of dynamic range of intensity, a reduction of speech discrimination, and an increase in susceptibility to the interfering effects of noise. The problems of speech discrimination and noise susceptibility remain, even when those of threshold elevation and dynamic range have been addressed with suitable amplification. Even with the best amplification, the subject with a sensorineural hearing loss is left with difficulties of speech discrimination and increased noise susceptibility. The deficits of aided speech discrimination and noise susceptibility are believed by many researchers to be due, in large part, to the reduced frequency resolution that accompanies sensorineural hearing loss. Several methods of spectral smearing have been used to simulate the effects of reduced frequency resolution.
