Inherent envelope fluctuations in forward masking: Effects of age and hearing loss

Publication Date

4-1-2023

Document Type

Article

Publication Title

Journal of the Acoustical Society of America

Volume

153

Issue

4

DOI

10.1121/10.0017724

First Page

1994

Last Page

2005

Abstract

Forward masking is generally greater for Gaussian noise (GN) than for low-fluctuation noise maskers, i.e., GN disruption. Because the minimal hearing loss that is associated with older age may affect GN disruption differently than more significant hearing loss, the current study explored the contribution of minimal hearing loss associated with older age to GN disruption. GN disruption was measured using three masker-signal delays (25, 75, and 150 ms) for three adult groups: younger participants with normal hearing (NH), older participants with minimal hearing loss, and older participants with sensorineural hearing loss. The role of underlying mechanisms was tested using a computational model for midbrain neurons. The primary result suggests that older listeners with mild threshold elevations that typically occur with age may be more susceptible to the deleterious effects of masker envelope fluctuations than younger listeners with NH. Results from the computational model indicate that there may be a larger influence of efferent feedback and saturation of inner hair cells on forward masking and GN disruption than previously considered.

Funding Number

010813

Funding Sponsor

National Institutes of Health

Comments

Copyright 2023 Acoustical Society of America. This article may be downloaded for personal use only. Any other use requires prior permission of the author and the Acoustical Society of America. The following article appeared in Marc A. Brennan, Adam Svec, Afagh Farhadi, Braden N. Maxwell, Laurel H. Carney; Inherent envelope fluctuations in forward masking: Effects of age and hearing loss. J Acoust Soc Am 1 April 2023; 153 (4): 1994. https://doi.org/10.1121/10.0017724 and may be found at https://doi.org/10.1121/10.0017724.

Department

Audiology

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