Auditory filter widths in children and adults

Filter widths for six groups of subjects, adults and children ages 6, 7, 8, 9, and 10, were estimated using two different psychophysical approaches. Subjects participated in an experiment with a fixed signal level (psychophysical tuning curve procedure) and in an experiment having a fixed masker level (notched noise procedure). The psychophysical tuning curves were determined with 200-Hz-wide noise bands centered at 2.3, 2.6, 3.0, 3.4, and 3.6 kHz. The 200-ms, 3-kHz signal was fixed in level at 30 dB SPL. Notched noise thresholds were determined with notch widths of (delta f/f) 0.0, 0.2, and 0.4. The delta f was the distance, in hertz, from the center frequency, f, to the edge of symmetrically placed bands of noise. The bands of noise were fixed at 35-dB pressure spectrum level. Results revealed no significant differences between the children and the adults on measures of Q10, ERB, and K. The conclusion of the present study was that auditory filter widths from the ages of 6 to adult were not significantly different.