Vol.. 8, 1922 PHYSICS: R. L. WEGEL 159 
physically possible to produce an amplification of speech so that this region 
is raised into the diminished area it is impracticable to do so because of 
the pain which would be caused by the louder components. A diminu- 
tion in sensation area can therefore be only partially compensated for. 
In case the area is extremely narrow a deaf set furnishing optimum volume 
•can only serve as an aid to lip reading. 
7. Quality of Hearing. — The sensation of a normal ear at any point in 
the auditory sense range (figure 1) may be described by any number of 
different adjectives, such as for example, "clear," "musical," "even," 
"sustained," "smooth," "pure," etc. Such a description may in fact be 
taken as a reasonable indication that the quality of sensation at the point 
in question is normal. Abnormal ears sometimes experience a subjective 
Fig. 3 
.0001 ' ^ 1 ' ' 1 11 III I I 
10 20 50 too 200 500 1000 2000 5000 tOOOO 20000 .50000 100000 
PREQUENCY 
QUALITY AREAS -LEFT EAR (C.H.K) 
•degeneration of quality of pure stimuli which they describe as "rough," 
■"harsh," "sharp," "buzzing," "vibrating," "hissing," etc. These sounds 
are independent of any tinnitus or head noises which the patient may have. 
Figure 3 shows various regions of the sensation area which are degenerated 
in the case of CHK. The shaded area was not explored. The boundaries 
of the degenerated regions are usually more sharply marked than those 
of minimum audibility and the sensations in these areas are so radically 
different from the sensation of a pure tone that it is with difficulty that 
the patient is convinced that the stimulation is the same pure tone to which 
he has been listening at the other intensities. The subject of these tests 
is a violinist and capable of better descriptions and finer distinctions than 
average. 
