Is there a link between the UCL and the stapedius reflex threshold?
Beginning in the 1970s, studies have been conducted to determine if the Acoustic Reflex Threshold (ART) could predict Uncomfortable Loudness Level (UCL, also known as Loudness Discomfort Level, LDL). If we could accurately predict UCL given ART, useful hearing aid fitting information could be obtained for difficult to test patients. The ability to predict UCL based on ART depends on the relationship between these two measures. Both ART and UCL are affected by degree of hearing loss. Average ARTs are about the same for people with normal hearing and sensorineural hearing loss when the pure tone threshold is below 45-50 dBHL (Gelfand et al., 1990). As hearing threshold increases above this point, ART increases. UCL varies with hearing loss in a similar way. Average UCL is similar for people with normal hearing or sensorineural hearing loss with thresholds below about 50 dBHL, with a gradual increase in UCL as hearing threshold increases (Kamm et al., 1978). Thus, it would seem logical th
