1. Siemens Audiologische Technik, Germany
2. University ENT Clinic, Giessen, Germany

Audiometric data required for the various prescriptive hearing aid fitting procedures ranges from pure tone thresholds e.g. for NAL or POGO to frequency specific loudness level functions as obtained using loudness scaling. As loudness scaling accounts for the residual dynamic range it promises improved fitting results over that derived from threshold based procedures. It is to be established whether this improvement is significant enough to justify the extra measuring time required as compared to threshold based fittings. Loudness scaling therefore was compared with two different prescriptive approaches for hearing aid fitting with respect to benefit and the satisfaction of hearing aid users. In the first part of the study, comparison was made with a fitting based on DSL [i/o]. For the second part, a modified presetting approach was used. Speech intelligibility and sound quality were tested. After a trial period, questionnaires of subjective benefit were also completed. Results of these measurements will be presented and discussed.