Hot-cold water sound perception and auditory-thermal discrimination

This study aimed to determine whether individuals can discriminate the temperature state of water using auditory cues alone and to identify the acoustic, perceptual, and neurocognitive factors associated with this ability. Sixty-three volunteers aged 18-25 years with normal hearing participated. Participants were presented with prerecorded sounds of hot and cold water being poured into four types of cups (glass, plastic, paper, porcelain) and completed discrimination and matching tasks while auditory processing and event-related potential measures were obtained. Results from Spectral-Temporally Modulated Ripple Test (SMRT), Frequency Pattern Test (FPT), and P300 recordings were collected. Significant SMRT differences (p < 0.05) were observed among participants who correctly identified temperature differences in porcelain cup stimuli. For paper cup stimuli, P300 amplitudes (p < 0.05) and FPT scores (p < 0.05) differed significantly between correct and incorrect responders. Gender significantly influenced performance with glass cup stimuli and in participants who described acoustic features (frequency, intensity, duration) for porcelain stimuli (p < 0.05). Despite normal audiological findings, individuals exhibited notable variability in perceiving the same acoustic stimuli. Auditory-thermal discrimination appears to rely on higher-order auditory processing and neurocognitive mechanisms rather than basic auditory sensitivity. This is the first study to link auditory‑thermal discrimination with SMRT/FPT and P300 measures in normal‑hearing young adults.