Aided Soundfield Threshold
The softest level of sound detectable by a patient while wearing a hearing device, measured in a calibrated soundfield rather than through earphones, used to verify the benefit provided by amplification.
Full Definition
An aided soundfield threshold is obtained by presenting pure tones or warble tones through loudspeakers in a sound-treated room while the patient wears their hearing device. The resulting thresholds represent the combined sensitivity of the listener's auditory system and the amplification provided by the device. Clinicians compare aided thresholds to unaided thresholds to quantify functional gain, and compare them to speech-frequency targets to confirm audibility of conversational speech. Editors should note that 'soundfield' is commonly written as one word in audiological usage, and that the aided soundfield threshold is a behavioural measure, distinct from the electroacoustic measure of insertion gain obtained via probe-microphone measurement.
Usage
Usage note: Write 'soundfield' as one word in audiological documents. Do not confuse with insertion gain, which is an electroacoustic measure obtained from a probe microphone, not from patient behaviour.
In Context
- "Aided soundfield thresholds confirmed that amplification brought the patient's responses within the speech banana across 500–4000 Hz." — Paediatric audiology verification report
- "Functional gain was calculated as the difference between the unaided and aided soundfield thresholds at each test frequency." — Hearing aid fitting verification documentation