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Updated: Jul 25, 2025

Modified Experimental Conditions for Noise-Induced Hearing Loss in Mice and Assessment of Hearing Function and Outer Hair Cell Damage
Published on: February 10, 2023
Controlling audibility with noise for online experiments using sound
Rodrigue Bravard1, Laurent Demany2, Daniel Pressnitzer1
1Laboratoire des Systèmes Perceptifs, Département d'Études Cognitives, École Normale Supérieure, Paris Sciences et Lettres University, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, 75005 Paris, France.
Abstract:
Online auditory experiments use the sound delivery equipment of each participant, with no practical way to calibrate sound level or frequency response. Here, a method is proposed to control sensation level across frequencies: embedding stimuli in threshold-equalizing noise. In a cohort of 100 online participants, noise could equate detection thresholds from 125 to 4000 Hz. Equalization was successful even for participants with atypical thresholds in quiet, due either to poor quality equipment or unreported hearing loss. Moreover, audibility in quiet was highly variable, as overall level was uncalibrated, but variability was much reduced with noise. Use cases are discussed.
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