MyMedR

Reeves A, Seluakumaran K, Scharf B

J Acoust Soc Am, 2021 05;149(5):3352.

A contralateral "cue" tone presented in continuous broadband noise both lowers the threshold of a signal tone by guiding attention to it and raises its threshold by interference. Here, signal tones were fixed in duration (40 ms, 52 ms with ramps), frequency (1500 Hz), timing, and level, so attention did not need guidance. Interference by contralateral cues was studied in relation to cue-signal proximity, cue-signal temporal overlap, and cue-signal order (cue after: backward interference, BI; or cue first: forward interference, FI). Cues, also ramped, were 12 dB above the signal level. Long cues (300 or 600 ms) raised thresholds by 5.3 dB when the signal and cue overlapped and by 5.1 dB in FI and 3.2 dB in BI when cues and signals were separated by 40 ms. Short cues (40 ms) raised thresholds by 4.5 dB in FI and 4.0 dB in BI for separations of 7 to 40 ms, but by ∼13 dB when simultaneous and in phase. FI and BI are comparable in magnitude and hardly increase when the signal is close in time to abrupt cue transients. These results do not support the notion that masking of the signal is due to the contralateral cue onset/offset transient response. Instead, sluggish attention or temporal integration may explain contralateral proximal interference.

Matched MeSH terms: Perceptual Masking*

The effect of non-native and non-regional speech testing on a multi-lingual population

Quar TK, Soli SD, Chan YF, Ishak WS, Abdul Wahat NH

Int J Audiol, 2017 02;56(2):92-98.

PMID: 27686009 DOI: 10.1080/14992027.2016.1210828

OBJECTIVE: This study was conducted to evaluate the speech perception of Malaysian Chinese adults using the Taiwanese Mandarin HINT (MHINT-T) and the Malay HINT (MyHINT).

DESIGN: The MHINT-T and the MyHINT were presented in quiet and noise (front, right and left) conditions under headphones. Results for the two tests were compared with each other and with the norms for each test.

STUDY SAMPLE: Malaysian Chinese native speakers of Mandarin (N = 58), 18-31 years of age with normal hearing.

RESULTS: On average, subjects demonstrated poorer speech perception ability than the normative samples for these tests. Repeated measures ANOVA showed that speech reception thresholds (SRTs) were slightly poorer on the MHINT-T than on the MyHINT for all test conditions. However, normalized SRTs were poorer by 0.6 standard deviations for MyHINT as compared with MHINT-T.

CONCLUSIONS: MyHINT and MHINT-T can be used as norm-referenced speech perception measures for Mandarin-speaking Chinese in Malaysia.

Matched MeSH terms: Perceptual Masking*

Time course of inhibition of return in a spatial cueing paradigm with distractors

Eng V, Lim A, Janssen SMJ, Satel J

Acta Psychol (Amst), 2018 Feb;183:51-57.

PMID: 29328938 DOI: 10.1016/j.actpsy.2017.12.011

Studies of endogenous and exogenous attentional orienting in spatial cueing paradigms have been used to investigate inhibition of return, a behavioral phenomenon characterized by delayed reaction time in response to recently attended locations. When eye movements are suppressed, attention is covertly oriented to central or peripheral stimuli. Overt orienting, on the other hand, requires explicit eye movements to the stimuli. The present study examined the time course of slowed reaction times to previously attended locations when distractors are introduced into overt and covert orienting tasks. In a series of experiments, manual responses were required to targets following central and peripheral cues at three different cue-target intervals, with and without activated oculomotor systems. The results demonstrate that, when eye movements are suppressed, behavioral inhibition is reduced or delayed in magnitude by the presence of a distractor relative to conditions without distractors. However, the time course of behavioral inhibition when eye movements are required remains similar with or without distractors.

Matched MeSH terms: Perceptual Masking/physiology

Measurement of subtle auditory deficit in tinnitus patients with normal audiometric thresholds using evoked otoacoustic emissions and threshold equalizing noise tests

Ishak WS, Zhao F, Rajenderkumar D, Arif M

Int Tinnitus J, 2013;18(1):35-44.

PMID: 24995898 DOI: 10.5935/0946-5448.20130006

The general consensus on the roles of hearing loss in triggering tinnitus seems not applicable in patients with normal hearing thresholds. The absence of hearing loss on the audiogram in this group of patients poses a serious challenge to the cochlear theories in explaining tinnitus generation in this group of patients.

Matched MeSH terms: Perceptual Masking/physiology*

The outcomes of bilateral cochlear implant users in Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia

Mohammad Azmi HH, Goh BS, Abdullah A, Umat C

Acta Otolaryngol, 2020 Oct;140(10):838-844.

PMID: 32564640 DOI: 10.1080/00016489.2020.1775887

INTRODUCTION: Bilateral cochlear implants are seen to improve hearing capabilities.

OBJECTIVE: To assess the auditory outcome of paediatric bilateral cochlear implant in Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia.

MATERIALS AND METHODS: This was a cross-sectional and descriptive study single centre analysis. Categories of Auditory Performance (CAP-II) scale and Speech, Spatial and Qualities (SSQ) of Hearing questionnaire were used.

RESULTS: Forty-six patients were recruited. Majority of the children (30.4%) rated 7 and 23.9% scored perfectly (9) based on the CAP-II Scale. The least performing children were rated 5 (average). Children that were implanted sequentially within 24 months showed median CAP-II scale of 7. No significant correlation seen between CAP-II and the duration interval, use and age of 1st CI (p > .05). The speech domain of SSQ-P scale showed median value of 8 indicating good speech understanding. The spatial hearing domain had median value of 7, quality of hearing domain had median of 8. Significant correlation seen in hearing in noise with the duration of use of CI (p

Matched MeSH terms: Perceptual Masking

The development of a fast method for recording Schroeder-phase masking functions

Rahmat S, O'Beirne GA

Hear Res, 2015 Dec;330(Pt A):125-33.

PMID: 26209881 DOI: 10.1016/j.heares.2015.07.013

Schroeder-phase masking complexes have been used in many psychophysical experiments to examine the phase curvature of cochlear filtering at characteristic frequencies, and other aspects of cochlear nonlinearity. In a normal nonlinear cochlea, changing the "scalar factor" of the Schroeder-phase masker from -1 through 0 to +1 results in a marked difference in the measured masked thresholds, whereas this difference is reduced in ears with damaged outer hair cells. Despite the valuable information it may give, one disadvantage of the Schroeder-phase masking procedure is the length of the test - using the conventional three-alternative forced-choice technique to measure a masking function takes around 45 min for one combination of probe frequency and intensity. As an alternative, we have developed a fast method of recording these functions which uses a Békésy tracking procedure. Testing at 500 Hz in normal hearing participants, we demonstrate that our fast method: i) shows good agreement with the conventional method; ii) shows high test-retest reliability; and iii) shortens the testing time to 8 min.

Matched MeSH terms: Perceptual Masking

Evaluation of real-world preferences and performance of hearing aids fitted according to the NAL-NL1 and DSL v5 procedures in children with moderately severe to profound hearing loss

Quar TK, Ching TY, Newall P, Sharma M

Int J Audiol, 2013 May;52(5):322-32.

PMID: 23570290 DOI: 10.3109/14992027.2012.755740

The study aims to compare the performance of hearing aids fitted according to the NAL-NL1 and DSL v5 prescriptive procedure for children.

Matched MeSH terms: Perceptual Masking

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