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No more than "slight" hearing loss and degradations in binaural processing
Leslie R Bernstein1, Constantine Trahiotis1
1Departments of Neuroscience and Surgery (Otolaryngology), University of Connecticut Health Center, Farmington, Connecticut 06030, USA.
The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America
|May 4, 2019
Summary
Listeners with slight hearing loss show deficits in binaural detection, interaural temporal disparity (ITD), and interaural intensity disparity (IID) discrimination. A cross-correlation model explains these deficits, attributing them to increased internal noise.
Area of Science:
- Auditory Neuroscience
- Psychoacoustics
- Hearing Science
Background:
- Listeners with even slight hearing loss can have significant deficits in binaural detection.
- It is unclear if these listeners also struggle with discriminating interaural temporal disparities (ITDs) or interaural intensity disparities (IIDs).
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate if listeners with slight hearing loss exhibit deficits in ITD and IID discrimination.
- To determine if the interaural cross-correlation model can explain these potential deficits.
Main Methods:
- Measured detection thresholds for tones masked by noise (NoSπ configuration).
- Measured discrimination thresholds for ITD and IID using Gaussian noise stimuli.
- Tested stimuli centered at 500 Hz and 4 kHz.
Main Results:
- Listeners with slight hearing loss and binaural detection deficits also showed deficits in ITD and IID discrimination.
- The cross-correlation model successfully accounted for the elevated thresholds in all three tasks.
- Increased levels of stimulus-dependent, additive internal noise appear to underlie these deficits.
Conclusions:
- Slight hearing loss can impair multiple aspects of binaural processing, including detection and disparity discrimination.
- The interaural cross-correlation model provides a unified explanation for these deficits.
- Internal noise is a likely factor contributing to impaired binaural hearing in individuals with mild hearing loss.