Related Experiment Video
Updated: May 23, 2026
Behavioral 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
Individual and level-dependent differences in masking for adults with normal and impaired hearing
Amy R Horwitz1, Jayne B Ahlstrom, Judy R Dubno
1Department of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, Medical University of South Carolina, 135 Rutledge Avenue, MSC 550, Charleston, South Carolina 29425-5500, USA. amy@shea-horwitz.com
Abstract:
Simultaneous, on-frequency masking is commonly assumed to be linear with increasing noise intensity. However, some evidence suggests that, expressed in terms of signal-to-noise ratio changes with background level changes, masking slopes can vary from 0 dB/dB. These results and evidence from a large sample of subjects with normal and impaired hearing demonstrate level-dependent changes in masking, large individual differences in masking among subjects with similar thresholds in quiet, and significant correlations of masking slope with other estimates of auditory function measured in the same backgrounds.
