Experiments were conducted to assess differential sensitivity to acoustic signal duration under various combinations of reference duration, sensation level, and signal frequency, and to determine whether hearing impairment, ostensibly due to cochlear pathology, affects such discrimination.
The absolute DL (difference limen) was linear as a function of reference duration at both 10 dB and 50 dB sensation levels in normal subjects and in those with presumed cochlear pathology. When a 10 dB SL signal was used, the mean absolute DL increased at the rate of 2.63 msec per 100-msec increase in reference duration. A concomitant increase of 2.38 msec per 100-msec increase in reference duration was observed when a 50 db SL signal was employed. Neither the signal frequency nor the presence of sensorineural hearing loss affected the duration DL, whereas a sensation level effect was exhibited by both types of subject. A smaller limen was obtained at 50 dB SL than at 10 dB SL.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTm ore t h a n g e n e r o u s a s s i s t a n c e i n d e s i g n i n g a n d m a i n t a i n i n g t h e i n s t r u m e n t a
t i o n u t i l i z e d i n t h i s s t u d y a n d f o r h i s t o l e r a n c e o f t h e w r i t e r o n nu m ero u s o c c a s i o n s .A p p r e c i a t i o n i s e x p r e s s e d t o D r . R o b e r t D u n c a n , D e p a r tm e n t o f
B i o s t a t i s t i c s a n d E p id e m io lo g y , S c h o o l o f H e a l t h , U n i v e r s i t y o f O k lah o m a, f o r h i s s e r v i c e s a s s t a t i s t i c a l c o n s u l t a n t . The w r i t e r c o n v e y s h i s a p p r e c i a t i o n t o h i s p a r e n t s a n d t o a l l t h o s e who w i s h e d h im s u c c e s s and p r o v i d e d e n c o u r a g e m e n t t h r o u g h o u t h i s a c a d e m ic e n d e a v o r s .S i n c e r e t h a n k s a r e a l s o e : q ? r e s s e d t o e a c h o f t h o s e who s e r v e d a s s u b j e c t s i n t h i s r e s e a r c h .
T h i s w o rk w as s u p p o r t e d b y t h e U n i v e r s i t y o f O klahom a M e d ic a lC e n t e r N a t i o n a l I n s t i t u t e s o f H e a l th g r a n t s NB 03 2 9 0 a n d 2 -K 3 -N B -2 2 , 5 37 a n d b y t h e V e t e r a n s A d m i n i s t r a t i o n H o s p i t a l , O k lah o m a C i t y , O k lah o m a.
Some of the major factors that might influence tapping changes induced by relatively short-term, pure tone delayed auditory feedback (DAF) were investigated. Stimulus frequency, subject, sex, sophistication, practice, physical fatigue, adaption to the task, and habituation to the task were considered. Only sophistication and habituation influenced performance significantly. The introduction of pure tone DAF within 5 dB SL, produced observable changes in tapping, thereby providing a sensitive means of extrapolating pure tone thresholds in a relatively objective manner.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.