Editing Loudness (section)

== Hearing loss ==
{{anchor|Softness imperception|Loudness recruitment}}When [[sensorineural hearing loss]] ([[Acoustic trauma|damage to the cochlea]] or in the brain) is present, the perception of loudness is altered. Sounds at low levels (often perceived by those without hearing loss as relatively quiet) are no longer audible to the hearing impaired, but sounds at high levels often are perceived as having the same loudness as they would for an unimpaired listener. This phenomenon can be explained by two theories, called ''loudness recruitment'' and ''softness imperception''.

Loudness recruitment posits that loudness grows more rapidly for certain listeners than normal listeners with changes in level. This theory has been accepted as the classical explanation.

Softness imperception, a term coined by [[Mary Florentine]] around 2002,<ref>{{cite journal |author-first=Mary |author-last=Florentine |author-link=Mary Florentine |title=It's not recruitment-gasp!! It's softness imperception |journal=Hearing Journal |date=March 2003 |volume=56 |issue=3 |doi=10.1097/01.HJ.0000293012.17887.b4 |pages=10, 12, 14, 15|doi-access=free }}</ref> proposes that some listeners with sensorineural hearing loss may exhibit a normal rate of loudness growth, but instead have an elevated loudness at their threshold. That is, the softest sound that is audible to these listeners is louder than the softest sound audible to normal listeners.