Loudness enhancement and intensity discrimination under forward and backward masking

Christopher J. Plack

doi:10.1121/1.416288

Time course of loudness enhancement and intensity discrimination

The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America ◽

10.1121/1.2002086 ◽

1975 ◽

Vol 58 (S1) ◽

pp. S35-S35 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

R. Elmasian ◽

R. Morgan ◽

R. Galambos

Keyword(s):

Time Course ◽

Intensity Discrimination ◽

Loudness Enhancement

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Intensity discrimination in backward masking.

The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America ◽

10.1121/1.403078 ◽

1992 ◽

Vol 91 (4) ◽

pp. 2457-2457

Author(s):

Christopher J. Plack ◽

Neal F. Viemeister

Keyword(s):

Intensity Discrimination ◽

Backward Masking

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Intensity discrimination under forward and backward masking: Role of referential coding

The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America ◽

10.1121/1.412227 ◽

1995 ◽

Vol 97 (2) ◽

pp. 1141-1149 ◽

Cited By ~ 28

Author(s):

Christopher J. Plack ◽

Robert P. Carlyon ◽

Neal F. Viemeister

Keyword(s):

Intensity Discrimination ◽

Backward Masking ◽

Referential Coding

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Intensity discrimination under backward masking

The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America ◽

10.1121/1.404205 ◽

1992 ◽

Vol 92 (6) ◽

pp. 3097-3101 ◽

Cited By ~ 20

Author(s):

Christopher J. Plack ◽

Neal F. Viemeister

Keyword(s):

Intensity Discrimination ◽

Backward Masking

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A Unified Theory of Psychophysical Laws in Hearing

10.31219/osf.io/6p8wx ◽

2018 ◽

Author(s):

Fan-Gang Zeng

Keyword(s):

Specific Form ◽

Unified Theory ◽

Backward Masking ◽

Perceptual Unit ◽

Electric Hearing ◽

Loudness Enhancement ◽

Original Idea ◽

Wide Range ◽

Free Parameters ◽

Balance Functions

Psychophysical laws quantitatively relate perceptual magnitude to stimulus intensity. While most people have accepted Stevens’s power function as the psychophysical law, few believe in Fechner’s original idea using just-noticeable-differences (jnd) as a constant perceptual unit to educe psychophysical laws. Here I present a unified theory in hearing, starting with a general form of Zwislocki’s loudness function (1965) to derive a general form of Brentano’s law. I will arrive at a general form of the loudness-jnd relationship that unifies previous loudness-jnd theories. Specifically, the “slope”, “proportional-jnd”, and “equal-loudness, equal-jnd” theories, are three additive terms in the new unified theory. I will also show that the unified theory is consistent with empirical data in both acoustic and electric hearing. Without any free parameters, the unified theory uses loudness balance functions to successfully predict the jnd function in a wide range of hearing situations. The situations include loudness recruitment and its jnd functions in sensorineural hearing loss and simultaneous masking, loudness enhancement and the midlevel hump in forward and backward masking, abnormal loudness and jnd functions in cochlear implant subjects. Predictions of these loudness-jnd functions were thought to be questionable at best in simultaneous masking or not possible at all in forward masking. The unified theory and its successful applications suggest that although the specific form of Fechner’s law needs to be revised, his original idea is valid in the wide range of hearing situations discussed here.

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Auditory Training to Improve Speech Perception and Self-Efficacy in Aging Adults

Journal of Speech Language and Hearing Research ◽

10.1044/2019_jslhr-19-00355 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 63 (4) ◽

pp. 1270-1281

Author(s):

Leah Fostick ◽

Riki Taitelbaum-Swead ◽

Shulamith Kreitler ◽

Shelly Zokraut ◽

Miriam Billig

Keyword(s):

Speech Perception ◽

Self Efficacy ◽

Temporal Order Judgment ◽

Auditory Training ◽

Intensity Discrimination ◽

Training Design ◽

Auditory Temporal Processing ◽

Temporal Properties ◽

Computer Based ◽

Aging Adults

Purpose Difficulty in understanding spoken speech is a common complaint among aging adults, even when hearing impairment is absent. Correlational studies point to a relationship between age, auditory temporal processing (ATP), and speech perception but cannot demonstrate causality unlike training studies. In the current study, we test (a) the causal relationship between a spatial–temporal ATP task (temporal order judgment [TOJ]) and speech perception among aging adults using a training design and (b) whether improvement in aging adult speech perception is accompanied by improved self-efficacy. Method Eighty-two participants aged 60–83 years were randomly assigned to a group receiving (a) ATP training (TOJ) over 14 days, (b) non-ATP training (intensity discrimination) over 14 days, or (c) no training. Results The data showed that TOJ training elicited improvement in all speech perception tests, which was accompanied by increased self-efficacy. Neither improvement in speech perception nor self-efficacy was evident following non-ATP training or no training. Conclusions There was no generalization of the improvement resulting from TOJ training to intensity discrimination or generalization of improvement resulting from intensity discrimination training to speech perception. These findings imply that the effect of TOJ training on speech perception is specific and such improvement is not simply the product of generally improved auditory perception. It provides support for the idea that temporal properties of speech are indeed crucial for speech perception. Clinically, the findings suggest that aging adults can be trained to improve their speech perception, specifically through computer-based auditory training, and this may improve perceived self-efficacy.

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