In this simulation you can discover how sensorineural hearing losses affect hearing. This type of hearing impairment is by far the most frequent and is caused by a dysfunction of the inner ear.

The first simulated hearing loss is a mild one and roughly reflects the average hearing loss of men at the age of 60. The second simulated hearing loss reflects a typical "sloping" (i.e., less hearing in the high frequencies) moderate hearing loss. (more about hearing loss)

Click on the various links to compare the sounds (flash plugin needed - get flash).

The hearing loss simulation is based on two algorithms which simulate recruitment [1] and spectral smearing [2].

[1] Moore, Brian, and Glasberg, Brian (1993): Simulation of the effects of loudness recruitment and threshold elevation on the intelligibility of speech in quiet and in background of speech. J. Acoust. Soc. Am, 94(4), 2050:2062
[2] Baer, Thomas, and Moore, Brian (1993): Effects of spectral smearing on the intelligibility of sentences in noise. J. Acoust. Soc. Am, 94, 1229:1241