title: Temporary off-frequency listening after noise trauma.
abstract: Hearing loss is routinely estimated from the audiogram, even though this measure gives only a rough approximation of hearing. Indeed, cochlear regions functioning poorly, if at all, called dead regions, are not detected by a simple audiogram. To detect cochlear dead regions, additional measurements of psychophysical tuning curves or thresholds in background noise (TEN test) are required. A first aim of this study was to assess the presence of dead regions after impulse noise trauma using psychophysical tuning curves. The procedure we used was based on a compromise between the need to collect reliable estimates of psychophysical tuning curves and the limited time available to obtain these estimates in a hospital setting. Psychophysical tuning curves were measured using simultaneous masking with a 2-alternative forced choice paradigm, where the target was randomly placed in one of the two masker presentations. It is well known that some components of noise-induced hearing loss are reversible. A second aim of this study was to examine the potential recovery of dead regions after acoustic trauma. A third issue addressed in this article was the relationship between noise-induced dead regions and tinnitus. We found that 70% of the subjects had dead regions after noise trauma, while 88% reported tinnitus. Moreover, we found that the extent of dead regions probably diminished in about 50% of subjects, which highlights the ability of the human auditory system to recover from noise-induced hearing loss.
authors: Laveran Hospital, 34, boulevard Laveran 13013, Marseille, France.
authors: M-C
authors: MC
authors: Etchelecou
authors: O
authors: O
authors: Coulet
authors: R
authors: R
authors: Derkenne
authors: M
authors: M
authors: Tomasi
authors: A J
authors: AJ
authors: Noreña
mesh_terms: D000161:Acoustic Stimulation; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D001299:Audiometry; D001307:Auditory Perception; D001309:Auditory Threshold; D003051:Cochlea / Q000293:injuries / Q000503:physiopathology*; D005389:Firearms; D006317:Hearing Loss, Noise-Induced / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000209:etiology / Q000503:physiopathology* / Q000523:psychology*; D006801:Humans; D008875:Middle Aged; D008889:Military Personnel; D009784:Occupational Diseases / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000209:etiology / Q000503:physiopathology* / Q000523:psychology*; D016273:Occupational Exposure; D010470:Perceptual Masking; D011571:Psychoacoustics; D020127:Recovery of Function; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D014012:Tinnitus / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000523:psychology; D055815:Young Adult