Loudness is the quality of a sound that is primarily a psychological correlate of physical strength (amplitude). More formally, it is defined as "that attribute of auditory sensation in terms of which sounds can be ordered on a scale extending from quiet to loud."[1]
Loudness, a subjective measure, is often confused with objective measures of sound strength such as sound pressure, sound pressure level (in decibels), sound intensity or sound power. Filters such as A-weighting attempt to adjust sound measurements to correspond to loudness as perceived by the typical human. However, loudness perception is a much more complex process than A-weighting. Furthermore, as the perception of loudness varies from person to person it cannot be universally measured using any single metric.
Loudness is also affected by parameters other than sound pressure, including frequency, bandwidth and duration.
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The perception of loudness is related to both the sound pressure level and duration of a sound. The human auditory system integrates (averages) the effects of sound pressure level (SPL) over a 600–1,000 ms window. For example, a sound of constant SPL will be perceived to increase in loudness as 20, 50, 100, 200 ms samples are played, up to a maximum of approximately 1 second at which point the perception of loudness will stabilize. For long duration sounds (greater than 1 second), the moment by moment perception of loudness will be based on the integration of the preceding 600–1,000 ms.
In terms of the relationship between SPL and loudness for sounds longer than 1 second, this can be approximated by a power function with an exponent of 0.6 when plotted against sound pressure or 0.3 when plotted against sound intensity (Stevens' power law). More precise measures have been subsequently made that show that loudness grows more rapidly (with a higher exponent) at low and high levels and less rapidly (with a lower exponent) at moderate levels.
Units used to measure loudness:
The sensitivity of the human ear changes as a function of frequency, as shown on the graph to the right. Each line on this graph shows the SPL required for frequencies to be perceived as equally loud. It also shows that humans with good hearing are most sensitive to sounds around 2–4 kHz, with sensitivity declining to either side of this region. A complete model of the perception of loudness will include the integration of SPL by frequency and the duration of each.
When sensorineural hearing loss (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 interestingly, 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: Loudness grows more rapidly for these listeners than normal listeners with changes in level. This theory is called "loudness recruitment" and has been accepted as the classical explanation. More recently, it has been proposed that some listeners with sensorineural hearing loss may in fact 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. This theory is called "softness imperception," a term coined by Mary Florentine.[2]
The “loudness” control on some consumer stereos alters the frequency response curve to correspond roughly with the equal loudness characteristic of the ear.[3] Loudness compensation is intended to make the recorded music sound more natural when played at a lower sound pressure level.
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