scholarly journals Evaluation of Binaural Interaction: Age-Related Altering Masking Level Difference in Normal Hearing Individuals

2021 ◽  
Vol 6 (3) ◽  
pp. 585-591
Author(s):  
Ahsen KARTAL ◽  
Barış YAMAN ◽  
Müjde KAYA ◽  
Burcu YERLİKAYA ◽  
Özlem KONUKSEVEN
Keyword(s):  
Normal Hearing ◽  
Binaural Interaction ◽  
Level Difference ◽  
Age Related ◽  
Masking Level Difference

scholarly journals Masking Level Difference and Electrophysiological Evaluation in Adults with Normal Hearing

2020 ◽  
Vol 24 (04) ◽  
pp. e399-e406
Author(s):  
Joyce Miranda Santiago ◽  
Cyntia Barbosa Laureano Luiz ◽  
Michele Garcia ◽  
Daniela Gil
Keyword(s):  
Auditory Processing ◽  
Auditory Evoked Potentials ◽  
Normal Hearing ◽  
Central Auditory Processing ◽  
Positive Correlation ◽  
Binaural Interaction ◽  
Level Difference ◽  
Significant Difference ◽  
Masking Level Difference ◽  
The Mean

Abstract Introduction The auditory structures of the brainstem are involved in binaural interaction, which contributes to sound location and auditory figure-background perception. Objective To investigate the performance of young adults in the masking level difference (MLD) test, brainstem auditory-evoked potentials (BAEPs) with click stimulus, and frequency-following response (FFR), as well as to verify the correlation between the findings, considering the topographic origin of the components of these procedures. Methods A total of 20 female subjects between 18 and 30 years of age, with normal hearing and no complaints concerning central auditory processing underwent a basic audiological evaluation, as well as the MLD test, BAEP and FFR. Results The mean result on the MLD test was of 10.70 dB. There was a statistically significant difference in the absolute latencies of waves I, III and V in the BAEPs of the ears. A change in the FFR characterized by the absence of the C, E and F waves was noticed. There was a statistically significant difference in the positive correlation of wave V in the BAEPs with the MLD. There was a statistically significant difference in the positive correlation of the mean MLD and the V, A and F components of the FFR. Conclusion The mean MLD was adequate. In the BAEPs, we observed that the click stimulus transmission occurred faster in the right ear. The FFR showed absence of some components. The mean MLD correlated positively with the BAEPs and FFR.

Development of a 500-Hz Masking-Level Difference Protocol for Clinic Use

2003 ◽  
Vol 14 (01) ◽  
pp. 001-008 ◽  
Author(s):  
Richard H. Wilson ◽  
Deborah W. Moncrieff ◽  
Elizabeth A. Townsend ◽  
Amanda L. Pillion
Keyword(s):  
Normal Hearing ◽  
Signal To Noise ◽  
Spectrum Level ◽  
Level Difference ◽  
Masking Level Difference ◽  
Single Interval ◽  
Series Of Experiments ◽  
The Mean ◽  
Perceptual Abilities ◽  
Response Task

The purpose of this series of experiments was to develop a simple, 500-Hz masking-level difference (MLD) protocol that could be implemented easily in the clinic to assess auditory perceptual abilities using an audio compact disc. Five, 300-ms tones with 250-ms intertone intervals were embedded in 3-s bursts of 200-800 Hz noise presented at 42.2-dB pressure-spectrum level with 4-5 s inter-stimulus intervals. The homophasic and antiphasic conditions were interleaved with the signal-to-noise ratios decreasing in 2-dB steps. A single-interval, "yes/no" response task was used. Three experiments were performed on 24-28 listeners with normal hearing. The mean SoNo thresholds (58.1- to 59.5-dB SPL) and the mean SπNo thresholds (45.1- to 46.0-dB SPL) produced ˜13-dB MLDs. Experiment 3 included a SoNπ condition that had a mean threshold of 48.8-dB SPL and a 10.0-dB MLD. The mean test, retest ot the SoNo and SπNo thresholds on 15 listeners was <0.5 dB. Over the three experiments, 95% of the listeners had SπNo MLDs that were ≥10 dB.

Factors Influencing the Masking Level Difference in Cochlear Hearing-Impaired and Normal-Hearing Listeners

1984 ◽  
Vol 27 (1) ◽  
pp. 145-154 ◽  
Author(s):  
Joseph W. Hall ◽  
Richard S. Tyler ◽  
Mariano A. Fernandes
Keyword(s):  
Narrow Band ◽  
Wide Band ◽  
Normal Hearing ◽  
Temporal Coding ◽  
Hearing Impaired ◽  
Frequency Resolution ◽  
Time Discrimination ◽  
Band Noise ◽  
Level Difference ◽  
Masking Level Difference

The masking level difference (MLD) at 500 Hz was examined in wide-band (960 Hz) and narrow-band (50 Hz) noise for normal-hearing subjects and subjects with symmetrical mild-to-moderate cochlear hearing loss. Monaural tasks of intensity discrimination, temporal resolution, and frequency resolution were performed in order to examine relationships between monaural dysfunction and MLD performance. Interaural time discrimination for a 500-Hz pure tone also was examined. The performance of the hearing-impaired subjects was poorer than that of the normal-hearing subjects for MLD, interaural Δt, and most monaural tasks. However, no significant relationships were found between monaural and MLD performance when effects of threshold were taken into account. MLDs were more reduced in wide-band noise than in narrow-band noise for the hearing-impaired subjects (when Contrasted with normal-hearing subjects). MLD performance was correlated with interaural time discrimination, and it is suggested that one reason for poor MLD performance with hearing impairment may be poor temporal coding of stimulus-fine structure.

The effect of diotic and dichotic level-randomization on the binaural masking-level difference

2005 ◽  
Vol 118 (5) ◽  
pp. 3229-3240 ◽  
Author(s):  
G. Bruce Henning ◽  
Virginia M. Richards ◽  
Jennifer J. Lentz
Keyword(s):  
Level Difference ◽  
Masking Level Difference

scholarly journals Age-related differences in binaural masking level differences: behavioral and electrophysiological evidence

2018 ◽  
Vol 120 (6) ◽  
pp. 2939-2952 ◽  
Author(s):  
Samira Anderson ◽  
Robert Ellis ◽  
Julie Mehta ◽  
Matthew J. Goupell
Keyword(s):  
Aging Effect ◽  
Normal Hearing ◽  
Behavioral Experiment ◽  
Spatial Cues ◽  
Sound Sources ◽  
Frequency Following Response ◽  
Binaural Processing ◽  
Threshold Difference ◽  
Age Related ◽  
Effects Of Aging

The effects of aging and stimulus configuration on binaural masking level differences (BMLDs) were measured behaviorally and electrophysiologically, using the frequency-following response (FFR) to target brainstem/midbrain encoding. The tests were performed in 15 younger normal-hearing (<30 yr) and 15 older normal-hearing (>60 yr) participants. The stimuli consisted of a 500-Hz target tone embedded in a narrowband (50-Hz bandwidth) or wideband (1,500-Hz bandwidth) noise masker. The interaural phase conditions included NoSo (tone and noise presented interaurally in-phase), NoSπ (noise presented interaurally in-phase and tone presented out-of-phase), and NπSo (noise presented interaurally out-of-phase and tone presented in-phase) configurations. In the behavioral experiment, aging reduced the magnitude of the BMLD. The magnitude of the BMLD was smaller for the NoSo–NπSo threshold difference compared with the NoSo–NoSπ threshold difference, and it was also smaller in narrowband compared with wideband conditions, consistent with previous measurements. In the electrophysiology experiment, older participants had reduced FFR magnitudes and smaller differences between configurations. There were significant changes in FFR magnitude between the NoSo to NoSπ configurations but not between the NoSo to NπSo configurations. The age-related reduction in FFR magnitudes suggests a temporal processing deficit, but no correlation was found between FFR magnitudes and behavioral BMLDs. Therefore, independent mechanisms may be contributing to the behavioral and neural deficits. Specifically, older participants had higher behavioral thresholds than younger participants for the NoSπ and NπSo configurations but had equivalent thresholds for the NoSo configuration. However, FFR magnitudes were reduced in older participants across all configurations. NEW & NOTEWORTHY Behavioral and electrophysiological testing reveal an aging effect for stimuli presented in wideband and narrowband noise conditions, such that behavioral binaural masking level differences and subcortical spectral magnitudes are reduced in older compared with younger participants. These deficits in binaural processing may limit the older participant's ability to use spatial cues to understand speech in environments containing competing sound sources.

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