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Published on: September 7, 2022
Auditory processing abilities in daily motorbike riders
G M Srujan1, Sathish Kumar1, Arivudai Nambi Pitchai Muthu2,3
1Manipal Academy of Higher Education, Department of Audiology and Speech-Language Pathology, Kasturba Medical College Mangalore, Manipal, India.
Purpose:
The negative auditory effects of wind noise exposure among motorcyclists are well-documented in the literature. The current study aimed to investigate functional auditory abilities, including auditory acuity and suprathreshold auditory abilities in young motorcyclists.
Method:
Thirty-two young adults (non-riders: 15, riders: 17), aged between 18 and 30 years, underwent comprehensive auditory assessments including structured interviews, conventional and high-frequency audiometry, Speech In Noise test (SNR50), Modulation Discrimination Test in Noise (MDT-N), and Temporal Fine Structure - Adaptive Frequency (TFS-AF), and noise level estimation.
Results:
Statistical analysis revealed no significant difference between riders and non-riders groups in hearing thresholds, SNR50, and MDT-N tests. However, the TFS-AF test showed that the riders group had significantly poorer scores compared to the non-riders group.
Conclusion:
The study findings suggest that exposure to wind noise may impair the temporal fine structure processing, even when hearing thresholds are within normal limits. Such suprathreshold deficits are consistent with the functional profile of cochlear synaptopathy (CS), though behavioural measures alone cannot confirm synaptic pathology. Future research should incorporate a comprehensive battery of complementary measures, such as electrophysiological assessments, to substantiate the presence of CS in this population.
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