Frequency Discrimination of Short- versus Long-Duration Tones by Normal and Hearing-Impaired Listeners

1987 ◽  
Vol 30 (1) ◽  
pp. 28-36 ◽  
Author(s):  
Richard L. Freyman ◽  
David A. Nelson
Keyword(s):  
Short Duration ◽  
Discrimination Performance ◽  
Frequency Discrimination ◽  
Normal Hearing ◽  
Stimulus Level ◽  
Hearing Impaired ◽  
Long Duration ◽  
Sensorineural Hearing Impairment ◽  
Pure Tones ◽  
Low Levels

This investigation explored the effects of stimulus level on the frequency discrimination of long- and short-duration pure tones by 5 subjects with normal hearing and 7 with sensorineural hearing impairment. Frequency difference limens (DLs) were obtained as a function of signal intensity for 5-ms and 300-ms tones at 500, 1000, and 2000 Hz. The performance of most of the hearing-impaired subjects was poorer than normal for 300-ms tones, but not for 5-ms tones. This result was relatively independent of the stimulus sensation levels at which the data were compared. However, the current results also show an unexpected dependence of the frequency DL on the sensation level of short-duration tones. In several normal-hearing subjects, frequency discrimination performance for these short tones is poorer at moderately high levels than at low levels.

Temporal Resolution in Normal-Hearing and Hearing-Impaired Listeners Using Frequency-Modulated Stimuli

1992 ◽  
Vol 35 (2) ◽  
pp. 436-442 ◽  
Author(s):  
John P. Madden ◽  
Lawrence L. Feth
Keyword(s):  
Temporal Resolution ◽  
Sound Pressure ◽  
Discrimination Performance ◽  
Frequency Discrimination ◽  
Normal Hearing ◽  
Pressure Level ◽  
Hearing Impaired ◽  
The Other ◽  
The Difference ◽  
The Individual

This study compares the temporal resolution of frequency-modulated sinusoids by normal-hearing and hearing-impaired subjects in a discrimination task. One signal increased linearly by 200 Hz in 50 msec. The other was identical except that its trajectory followed a series of discrete steps. Center frequencies were 500, 1000, 2000, and 4000 Hz. As the number of steps was increased, the duration of the individual steps decreased, and the subjects’ discrimination performance monotonically decreased to chance. It was hypothesized that the listeners could not temporally resolve the trajectory of the step signals at short step durations. At equal sensation levels, and at equal sound pressure levels, temporal resolution was significantly reduced for the impaired subjects. The difference between groups was smaller in the equal sound pressure level condition. Performance was much poorer at 4000 Hz than at the other test frequencies in all conditions because of poorer frequency discrimination at that frequency.

Stimulus Duration and Frequency Discrimination for Normal-Hearing and Hearing-Impaired Subjects

1984 ◽  
Vol 27 (2) ◽  
pp. 252-256 ◽  
Author(s):  
Joseph W. Hall ◽  
Elizabeth J. Wood
Keyword(s):  
Stimulus Duration ◽  
Temporal Integration ◽  
Detection Threshold ◽  
Frequency Discrimination ◽  
Normal Hearing ◽  
Hearing Impaired ◽  
Frequency Difference ◽  
Impaired Group ◽  
Overall Performance ◽  
Pure Tones

Frequency discrimination for 500- and 2000-Hz pure tones at durations of 5, 10, 20, 50, and 200 ms was determined for 10 normal-hearing and 10 cochlear-impaired listeners. Listeners from both groups demonstrated monotonic increases in frequency difference limens as stimulus duration decreased. The functions of the hearing-impaired listeners were parallel to those of the normal-hearing listeners for stimulus durations between 10 and 200 ms, but the overall performance of the hearing-impaired group was poorer than that of the normal-hearing group. The functions of many of the cochlear-impaired subjects were less steep than normal for the shortest durations tested (between 5 and l0 ms). There appeared to be no relation between temporal integration for frequency discrimination and temporal integration for detection threshold. The results are discussed in terms of processes of temporal integration and frequency selectivity.

Effect of Realistic Test Conditions on Spectral and Temporal Processing in Normal-Hearing Listeners

2021 ◽  
Vol 30 (1) ◽  
pp. 160-169
Author(s):  
Yang-Soo Yoon ◽  
Callie Michelle Boren ◽  
Brianna Diaz
Keyword(s):  
Temporal Processing ◽  
Detection Threshold ◽  
Frequency Discrimination ◽  
Normal Hearing ◽  
Discrimination Threshold ◽  
Test Environment ◽  
Test Conditions ◽  
Significant Difference ◽  
Test Order ◽  
Pure Tones

Purpose To measure the effect of testing conditions (in the soundproof booth vs. quiet room), test order, and number of test sessions on spectral and temporal processing in normal-hearing (NH) listeners. Method Thirty-two adult NH listeners participated in the three experiments. For all three experiments, the stimuli were presented to the left ear at the subjects' most comfortable level through headphones. All tests were administered in an adaptive three-alternative forced-choice paradigm. Experiment 1 was designed to compare the effect of soundproof booth and quiet room test conditions on amplitude modulation detection threshold and modulation frequency discrimination threshold with each of the five modulation frequencies. Experiment 2 was designed to compare the effect of two test orders on the frequency discrimination thresholds under the quiet room test conditions. The thresholds were first measured in the ascending and descending order of four pure tones, and then with counterbalanced order. For Experiment 3, the amplitude discrimination threshold under the quiet room testing condition was assessed 3 times to determine the effect of the number of test sessions. Then the thresholds were compared over the sessions. Results Results showed no significant effect of test environment. The test order is an important variable for frequency discrimination, particularly between piano tunes and pure tones. Results also show no significant difference across test sessions. Conclusions These results suggest that a controlled test environment may not be required in spectral and temporal assessment for NH listeners. Under the quiet test environment, a single outcome measure is sufficient, but test orders should be counterbalanced.

Perception of Spectral Contrast by Hearing-Impaired Listeners

2005 ◽  
Vol 48 (4) ◽  
pp. 910-921 ◽  
Author(s):  
Laura E. Dreisbach ◽  
Marjorie R. Leek ◽  
Jennifer J. Lentz
Keyword(s):  
Hearing Loss ◽  
Internal Representation ◽  
Normal Hearing ◽  
Stimulus Level ◽  
Hearing Impaired ◽  
Frequency Resolution ◽  
Spectral Peak ◽  
Control Group ◽  
Complex Sounds ◽  
Spectral Contrast

The ability to discriminate the spectral shapes of complex sounds is critical to accurate speech perception. Part of the difficulty experienced by listeners with hearing loss in understanding speech sounds in noise may be related to a smearing of the internal representation of the spectral peaks and valleys because of the loss of sensitivity and an accompanying reduction in frequency resolution. This study examined the discrimination by hearing-impaired listeners of highly similar harmonic complexes with a single spectral peak located in 1 of 3 frequency regions. The minimum level difference between peak and background harmonics required to discriminate a small change in the spectral center of the peak was measured for peaks located near 2, 3, or 4 kHz. Component phases were selected according to an algorithm thought to produce either highly modulated (positive Schroeder) or very flat (negative Schroeder) internal waveform envelopes in the cochlea. The mean amplitude difference between a spectral peak and the background components required for discrimination of pairs of harmonic complexes (spectral contrast threshold) was from 4 to 19 dB greater for listeners with hearing impairment than for a control group of listeners with normal hearing. In normal-hearing listeners, improvements in threshold were seen with increasing stimulus level, and there was a strong effect of stimulus phase, as the positive Schroeder stimuli always produced lower thresholds than the negative Schroeder stimuli. The listeners with hearing loss showed no consistent spectral contrast effects due to stimulus phase and also showed little improvement with increasing stimulus level, once their sensitivity loss was overcome. The lack of phase and level effects may be a result of the more linear processing occurring in impaired ears, producing poorer-than-normal frequency resolution, a loss of gain for low amplitudes, and an altered cochlear phase characteristic in regions of damage.

Frequency-Discrimination Ability of Hearing-Impaired Listeners

1981 ◽  
Vol 24 (1) ◽  
pp. 108-112 ◽  
Author(s):  
P. M. Zurek ◽  
C. Formby
Keyword(s):  
Hearing Loss ◽  
Hearing Impairment ◽  
Frequency Modulation ◽  
Hearing Threshold ◽  
Low Frequency ◽  
Frequency Discrimination ◽  
Normal Hearing ◽  
Hearing Impaired ◽  
Discrimination Ability ◽  
Hearing Sensitivity

Thresholds for frequency modulation were measured by an adaptive, two-alternative, forced-choice method with ten listeners: eight who showed varying degrees of sensorineural hearing impairment, and two with normal-hearing sensitivity. Results for test frequencies spaced at octave intervals between 125 and 4000 Hz showed that, relative to normal-hearing listeners, the ability of the hearing-impaired listeners to detect a sinusoidal frequency modulation: (1) is diminished above a certain level of hearing loss; and (2) is more disrupted for low-frequency tones than for high-frequency tones, given the same degree of hearing loss at the test frequency. The first finding is consistent with that of previous studies which show a general deterioration of frequency-discrimination ability associated with moderate, or worse, hearing loss. It is proposed that the second finding may be explained: 1) by differential impairment of the temporal and place mechanisms presumed to, encode pitch at the lower and higher frequencies, respectively; and/or, 2) for certain configurations of hearing loss, by the asymmetrical pattern of cochlear excitation that may lead to the underestimation, from measurements of threshold sensitivity, of hearing impairment for low-frequency tones and consequently to relatively large changes in frequency discrimination for small shifts in hearing threshold.

A Comparison of Psychometric Functions for Detection in Normal-Hearing and Hearing-Impaired Listeners

1990 ◽  
Vol 33 (3) ◽  
pp. 433-439 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kathryn Hoberg Arehart ◽  
Edward M. Burns ◽  
Robert S. Schlauch
Keyword(s):  
Normal Hearing ◽  
Forced Choice ◽  
Hearing Impaired ◽  
Choice Procedure ◽  
Forced Choice Procedure ◽  
Pure Tones

Psychometric functions (PFD) for the detection of pure tones were obtained with a two-interval forced-choice procedure from a group of listeners with normal hearing and a group of listeners with sensorineural impairments of presumed cochlear origin. Five PFDs were obtained for each group at each of the four test frequencies (500, 2000, 4000, and 8000 Hz). The slopes of PFDs were abnormally steep in some of the hearing-impaired listeners, but were statistically significant only at 2000 Hz.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document