Masking Level Difference and Electrophysiological Evaluation in Adults with Normal Hearing
Joyce Miranda Santiago1, Cyntia Barbosa Laureano Luiz1, Michele Garcia2
1Department of Speech Language Pathology, Escola Paulista de Medicina, Universidade Federal de São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil.
International Archives of Otorhinolaryngology
|October 26, 2020
Summary
Young adults
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Audiology
- Auditory Perception
Background:
- Brainstem auditory structures are crucial for binaural interaction, impacting sound localization and auditory figure-background perception.
- Central auditory processing efficiency influences auditory tasks like sound localization.
Purpose of the Study:
- Investigate young adults' performance on the masking level difference (MLD) test, brainstem auditory-evoked potentials (BAEPs), and frequency-following response (FFR).
- Examine correlations between MLD, BAEPs, and FFR, considering their topographic origins.
Main Methods:
- 20 young adults (18-30 years) with normal hearing underwent audiological evaluation, MLD testing, BAEPs, and FFR.
- Analysis focused on MLD thresholds, BAEP latencies, FFR components, and inter-test correlations.
Main Results:
- Mean MLD was 10.70 dB, considered adequate.
- BAEPs showed significant differences in absolute latencies of waves I, III, and V between ears, with faster right-ear transmission.
- FFR exhibited absence of C, E, and F waves.
- Significant positive correlations were found between MLD and BAEP wave V, and between MLD and FFR components (V, A, F).
Conclusions:
- Young adults demonstrated adequate masking level difference performance.
- BAEPs indicated faster auditory pathway processing in the right ear for click stimuli.
- FFR abnormalities were observed.
- Positive correlations suggest a link between central auditory processing, binaural hearing, and neural encoding of sound.
