LONG-TERM TEST-RETEST RELIABILITY OF CATEGORY LOUDNESS SCALING IN NORMAL-HEARING SUBJECTS USING PURE-TONE STIMULI

The present study investigates the test-retest reliability of category loudness scaling with pure tones for each of the scaling categories: 'very soft','soft','OK', 'loud', 'very loud' and 'too loud' at the aud iometric frequencies 0.5, 1 kHz, 2 kHz and 4 kHz. Category loudness sc aling at two sessions separated by between 1 and 4 weeks was obtained from 16 normal-hearing subjects who all had normal otoscopy, present a coustic reflexes at audiometric frequencies 0.5-4 kHz and middle ear p ressure within +/-50 daPa. Intrasubject between-session reliability wa s found not to be frequency dependent, and comparison with other studi es revealed that reliability is not dependent on the applied stimulus signal. Test-retest reliability varied between the different categorie s: In the categories 'very soft','loud','very loud' and 'too loud' the test reliability is in the same range as found for hearings threshold s determination, whereas for the 'soft' and 'OK categories it is poore r. The greater uncertainty for intermediate levels should be considere d when using category loudness scaling, e.g, for calculating hearing a id parameters.