Cross-modality matching and the loudness growth function for click stimuli.

Loudness-intensity functions for click stimuli were obtained from 30 adult listeners having normal (n = 10), flat (n = 10), or sloping (n = 10) high-frequency cochlear hearing loss configurations. The procedure of cross-modality matching (CMM) between loudness and perceived line length [R. P. Hellman and C. H. Meiselman, J. Speech Hear. Res. 31, 605-615 (1988); J. Acoust. Soc. Am. 88, 2596-2606 (1990); J. Acoust. Soc. Am. 93, 966-975 (1993)] was used to validate their loudness growth functions. Mean group loudness exponents were similar to those reported in recent investigations that utilized pure tone stimuli, further supporting the validity and reliability of the CMM task as an estimate of the loudness growth function. The results also suggest that the mean loudness function for clicks is similar to the function obtained with tonal stimuli at least for listeners with moderately impaired hearing or better. Moreover, CMM produced less variability than the more conventional psychophysical methods of magnitude estimation and production for the groups with cochlear hearing loss. Toward direct application of the CMM technique, in lieu of absolute exponential slope values, the individually determined loudness growth function over a range of intensities should be compared to the normal mean functions for calculations of deviations.