[Fitting Column] Demystifying UCL-Discomfort Threshold

When it comes to the discomfort threshold, I believe it is a familiar and unfamiliar term for many fitting technicians.Today, Xiaoou will bring you an in-depth explanation of the discomfort threshold:

1,What is the discomfort threshold?

Uncomfortable threshold (UCL): As the name implies, the uncomfortable threshold refers to the sound pressure level at which the sound intensity just causes the hearing discomfort.

testing method

The frequencies are 0.25 kHz, 0.5 kHz, 1 kHz, 2 kHz, 4 kHz, and 8 kHz. The initial stimulus sound starts from 10dB above the threshold, and the intensity of the given sound is gradually increased until the subject feels uncomfortable. Give the response and record the result .

2,Why test the discomfort threshold?

Clinically, we often encounter a group of people whose listening experience of sound is: they can’t hear in a low voice, and they feel uncomfortable in a loud voice.This phenomenon can be summed up in a professional term from the perspective of audiology-revitalization. http://www.jhhearingaids.com

The rejuvenation phenomenon is a manifestation of cochlear lesions, and the main lesions are in the sensory part of the cochlea, especially in the outer hair cells.Studies have shown that about 76% of sensorineural hearing loss has a certain degree of recovery. Conductive hearing loss and neurological hearing loss generally do not have this phenomenon.

In the fitting of clinical hearing aids, because the discomfort threshold of these people is lowered and the auditory dynamic range is narrowed, they will always complain that the sound of the hearing aid is very noisy or that Hearing aid Ineffective.When the fitter adjusts the adjustment gain, the patient will have a significant difference in the sound loudness of the hearing aid.

Summary of debugging experience

The specific manifestation of rejuvenation is that it is inaudible in low voices and uncomfortable when it is loud. Therefore, during debugging, you should focus on increasing the gain of small voices, reducing the gain of strong voices and the size of MPO.The compression ratio will vary with the gains of low and strong sounds.An optician who understands the algorithm of compression ratio should understand that the gain of strong sound remains unchanged, while the gain of low sound increases, the compression ratio increases.The gain of strong voice is increased, the gain of low voice is unchanged, and the compression ratio is reduced.

Author: Jiang Yaping

Link:      [Fitting Column] Demystifying UCL-Discomfort Threshold

REF: Hearing Aids Supplier Hearing amplifierHearing Loss
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