Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jun 1, 2026

Systematic Hearing Performance Evaluation Process for Adolescents with Cochlear Implantation at Early Ages
Published on: March 24, 2023
Clinical assessment of pitch perception
Bart Vaerenberg1, Alexandru Pascu, Luca Del Bo
1The Eargroup, Antwerp-Deurne, Belgium.
Objective:
The perception of pitch has recently gained attention. At present, clinical audiologic tests to assess this are hardly available. This article reports on the development of a clinical test using harmonic intonation (HI) and disharmonic intonation (DI).
Study Design:
Prospective collection of normative data and pilot study in hearing-impaired subjects.
Setting:
Tertiary referral center.
Patients:
Normative data were collected from 90 normal-hearing subjects recruited from 3 different language backgrounds. The pilot study was conducted on 18 hearing-impaired individuals who were selected into 3 pathologic groups: high-frequency hearing loss (HF), low-frequency hearing loss (LF), and cochlear implant users (CI).
Intervention(S):
Normative data collection and exploratory diagnostics by means of the newly constructed HI/DI tests using intonation patterns to find the just noticeable difference (JND) for pitch discrimination in low-frequency harmonic complex sounds presented in a same-different task.
Main Outcome Measure(S):
JND for pitch discrimination using HI/DI tests in the hearing population and pathologic groups.
Results:
Normative data are presented in 5 parameter statistics and box-and-whisker plots showing median JNDs of 2 (HI) and 3 Hz (DI). The results on both tests are statistically abnormal in LF and CI subjects, whereas they are not significantly abnormal in the HF group.
Conclusion:
The HI and DI tests allow the clinical assessment of low-frequency pitch perception. The data obtained in this study define the normal zone for both tests. Preliminary results indicate possible abnormal TFS perception in some hearing-impaired subjects.
More Related Videos
14:05Behavioral Assessment of Hearing in 2 to 4 Year-old Children: A Two-interval, Observer-based Procedure Using Conditioned Play-based Responses
Published on: January 23, 2017
09:38Quantitative Assessment of Cortical Auditory-tactile Processing in Children with Disabilities
Published on: January 29, 2014
Related Concept Videos
Perceiving Loudness, Pitch, and Location
Place theory, or place coding, suggests that different pitches are heard because various sound waves activate specific locations along the cochlea's basilar membrane. The brain determines the pitch of a sound by identifying...
Perception of Sound Waves
The pitch of a sound depends on the frequency and the pressure amplitude of the source. Two sounds of the same frequency...
Auditory Perception
Hearing
Physical Assessment of the Respiratory Tract III: Percussion
Percussion in Respiratory Assessment
Percussion evaluates underlying tissue composition with audible and tactile vibrations,...
Physical Assessment of the Respiratory Tract IV: Auscultation
Breath Sounds
Breath sounds are categorized into vesicular, bronchovesicular, and bronchial.