title: Comparison of distortion-product otoacoustic emission growth rates and slopes of forward-masked psychometric functions.
abstract: Slopes of forward-masked psychometric functions (FM PFs) were compared with distortion-product otoacoustic emission (DPOAE) input/output (I/O) parameters at 1 and 6 kHz to test the hypothesis that these measures provide similar estimates of cochlear compression. Implicit in this hypothesis is the assumption that both DPOAE I/O and FM PF slopes are functionally related to basilar-membrane (BM) response growth. FM PF-slope decreased with signal level, but this effect was reduced or reversed with increasing hearing loss; there was a trend of decreasing psychometric function (PF) slope with increasing frequency, consistent with greater compression at higher frequencies. DPOAE I/O functions at 6 kHz exhibited an increase in the breakpoint of a two-segment slope as a function of hearing loss with a concomitant decrease in the level of the distortion product (L(d)). Results of the comparison between FM PF and DPOAE I/O parameters revealed only a weak correlation, suggesting that one or both of these measures may provide unreliable information about BM compression.
authors.affiliation: Starkey Hearing Research Center, 2150 Shattuck Avenue, Suite 408, Berkeley, California 94704-1345, USA. joyce_rodriguez@starkey.com
authors.forename: Joyce
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Rodríguez
authors.forename: Stephen T
authors.initials: ST
authors.lastname: Neely
authors.forename: Walt
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Jesteadt
authors.forename: Hongyang
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Tan
authors.forename: Michael P
authors.initials: MP
authors.lastname: Gorga
mesh_terms: D000161:Acoustic Stimulation; D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D001307:Auditory Perception; D001309:Auditory Threshold; D001489:Basilar Membrane / Q000503:physiopathology; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D003051:Cochlea / Q000503:physiopathology*; D034381:Hearing Loss / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000523:psychology*; D006801:Humans; D008875:Middle Aged; D017084:Otoacoustic Emissions, Spontaneous; D010469:Perceptual Distortion; D010470:Perceptual Masking; D011237:Predictive Value of Tests; D011571:Psychoacoustics; D055815:Young Adult