Final answer:
The lowest possible hearing level at which responses occur in 50% of ascending trials is called the absolute threshold. In the case of a person with a 50-dB hearing loss at all frequencies, low-intensity sounds would need to be amplified by a factor of 10^5 to seem normal to them. Smaller amplification is necessary for more intense sounds to avoid further damage to hearing.
Step-by-step explanation:
The lowest possible hearing level at which responses occur in at least 50% of a series of ascending trials is known as the absolute threshold.
It refers to the minimum amount of stimulus energy required for a stimulus to be detected 50% of the time. The absolute threshold varies depending on factors such as frequency and intensity of the sound.
In the case of a person with a 50-dB hearing loss at all frequencies, low-intensity sounds would need to be amplified by a factor of 10^5 to seem normal to them. This means that the low-intensity sounds would have to be made 100,000 times louder for the person to detect them at the same level as a person with normal hearing.
It's worth noting that smaller amplification is necessary for more intense sounds to avoid further damage to the person's hearing.