High-frequency hearing losses caused by low-frequency noises.
Human subjects were exposed to an octave-band noise for 24 hours. Temporary threshold shifts increased for the first eight hours of exposure and then were asymptotic. While threshold shifts were largest at about one-half octave above the center frequency of the noise, a second maximum was observed at higher test frequencies. The exact frequency of this second maximum decreased from 7.0 kHz, for a noise centered at 2.0 kHz, to 5.5 kHz for a noise centered at 0.5 kHz. This result could be caused by the travelling wave pattern along the cochlear partition or to the production of distortion products.
D001309:Auditory Threshold / Q000502:physiology; D006317:Hearing Loss, Noise-Induced / Q000209:etiology* / Q000503:physiopathology; D006801:Humans; D009622:Noise / Q000009:adverse effects*; D013016:Sound; D013997:Time Factors