[Critical ratio: effects of contralateral masking on normal and pathological ears]

In order to evaluate the central interferences on the auditory efficiency, the effect of contralateral masking noise on Critical Ratio (CR) has been studied in 14 normal ears (control group), in 12 ears with cochlear disorders and in 6 with retrocochlear lesion (acoustic neuromas); in all cases the impairment was unilateral, while the other ear was normal. CR values were calculated for 1 KHz pulsed tones (duration 500 ms, rise/fall 25 ms, duty cycle of 50%); the masking noise was a wide band (90-20,000 Hz) delivered at 40 dB SL. The results have demonstrated that in the presence of contralateral masking noise, CRs don't modify both in the normal ears and in those with retrocochlear disorder, whereas they increase, almost always, in ears with cochlear deafness. These results demonstrate that the involvement of central auditory pathways, because of contralateral noise, makes the auditory efficiency worse, only in ears with cochlear dysfunctions; this behaviour seems to confirm the peripheral origin of CR.