Temporal characteristics of auditory adaptation: a case report

Auditory-adaptation, or tone-decay, measurements are reported for a patient with an 8th-nerve tumor in the left ear and a sensorineural hearing loss of cochlear origin in the right ear. Data for the patient suggested that the temporal features of auditory adaptation were more effective in differentiating adaptation processes for the two ears and associated lesions than was the magnitude classification of auditory adaptation in dB for the two ears. It is recommended that tests of auditory adaptation include an analysis of the temporal characteristics of the adaptation process.