Individual Differences in Behavioral Estimates of Cochlear Nonlinearities

Judy R. Dubno1, Amy R. Horwitz1, Gayla L. Poling1,2, Jayne B. Ahlstrom1
1Department of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston, USA
2Roxelyn and Richard Pepper Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders, Northwestern University, Evanston, USA

Tóm tắt

Psychophysical methods provide a mechanism to infer the characteristics of basilar membrane responses in humans that cannot be directly measured. Because these behavioral measures are indirect, the interpretation of results depends on several underlying assumptions. Ongoing uncertainty about the suitability of these assumptions and the most appropriate measurement and compression estimation procedures, and unanswered questions regarding the effects of cochlear hearing loss and age on basilar membrane nonlinearities, motivated this experiment. Here, estimates of cochlear nonlinearities using temporal masking curves (TMCs) were obtained in a large sample of adults of various ages whose hearing ranged from normal to moderate cochlear hearing loss (Experiment 1). A wide range of compression slopes was observed, even for subjects with similar ages and thresholds, which warranted further investigation (Experiment 2). Potential sources of variance contributing to these individual differences were explored, including procedural-related factors (test–retest reliability, suitability of the linear-reference TMC, probe sensation levels, and parameters of TMC fitting algorithms) and subject-related factors (age and age-related changes in temporal processing, strength of cochlear nonlinearities estimated with distortion-product otoacoustic emissions, estimates of changes in cochlear function from damage to outer hair cells versus inner hair cells). Subject age did not contribute significantly to TMC or compression slopes, and TMC slopes did not vary significantly with threshold. Test–retest reliability of TMCs suggested that TMC masker levels and the general shapes of TMCs did not change in a systematic way when re-measured many weeks later. Although the strength of compression decreased slightly with increasing hearing loss, the magnitude of individual differences in compression estimates makes it difficult to determine the effects of hearing loss and cochlear damage on basilar membrane nonlinearities in humans.

Từ khóa

#Otorhinolaryngology #Neurosciences #Neurobiology

Tài liệu tham khảo

Backus BC, Guinan JJ (2006) Time-course of the human medial olivocochlear reflex. J Acoust Soc Am 119:2889–2904 Backus BC, Guinan JJ (2007) Measurement of the distribution of medial olivocochlear acoustic reflex strengths across normal-hearing individuals via otoacoustic emissions. J Assoc Res Otolaryngol 8:484–496 Dorn PA, Konrad-Martin D, Neely ST, Keefe DH, Cyr E, Gorga MP (2001) Distortion product otoacoustic emission input/output functions in normal-hearing and hearing-impaired human ears. J Acoust Soc Am 110:3119–3131 Dubno JR, Horwitz AR, Ahlstrom JB (2002) Benefit of modulated maskers for speech recognition by younger and older adults with normal hearing. J Acoust Soc Am 111:2897–2907 Dubno JR, Horwitz AR, Ahlstrom JB (2003) Recovery from prior stimulation: masking of speech by interrupted noise for younger and older adults with normal hearing. J Acoust Soc Am 113:2084–2094 Dubno JR, Horwitz AR, Ahlstrom JB (2007) Estimates of basilar-membrane nonlinearity effects on masking of tones and speech. Ear Hear 28:2–17 Florentine M, Fastl H, Buus S (1988) Temporal integration in normal hearing, cochlear impairment, and impairment simulated by masking. J Acoust Soc Am 84:195–203 Gifford RH, Bacon SP (2005) Psychophysical estimates of nonlinear cochlear processing in younger and older listeners. J Acoust Soc Am 118:3823–3833 Gifford RH, Bacon SP, Williams EJ (2007) An examination of speech recognition in a modulated background and of forward masking in younger and older listeners. J Speech Lang Hear Res 50:857–864 Guinan JJ (2006) Olivocochlear efferents: anatomy, physiology, function, and the measurement of efferent effects in humans. Ear Hear 27:589–607 Heinz MG (2010) Computational modeling of sensorineural hearing loss. In: Meddis R, Lopez-Poveda E, Popper A, Fay R (eds) Computational models of the auditory system. Springer, New York, pp 177–202 Heinz MG, Young ED (2004) Response growth with sound level in auditory-nerve fibers after noise-induced hearing loss. J Neurophysiol 91:784–795 Horwitz AR, Ahlstrom JB, Dubno JR (2007) Speech recognition in noise: estimating effects of compressive nonlinearities in the basilar-membrane response. Ear Hear 28:682–693 Horwitz AR, Ahlstrom JB, Dubno JR (2011) Level-dependent changes in detection of temporal gaps in noise markers by adults with normal and impaired hearing. J Acoust Soc Am, in press Howgate S, Plack CJ (2011) A behavioral measure of the cochlear changes underlying temporary threshold shifts. Hear Res 277:78–87 Jennings SG, Strickland EA, Heinz MG (2009) Precursor effects on behavioral estimates of frequency selectivity and gain in forward masking. J Acoust Soc Am 125:2172–2181 Jepsen ML, Dau T (2011) Characterizing auditory processing and perception in individual listeners with sensorineural hearing loss. J Acoust Soc Am 129:262–281 Johannesen PT, Lopez-Poveda EA (2008) Cochlear nonlinearity in normal-hearing subjects as inferred psychophysically and from distortion-product otoacoustic emissions. J Acoust Soc Am 124:2149–2163 Kujawa S, Liberman MC (2009) Adding insult to injury: cochlear nerve degeneration after “temporary” noise-induced hearing loss. J Neurosci 29:14077–14085 Kummer P, Janssen T, Arnold W (1998) The level and growth behavior of the 2f 1–f 2 distortion product otoacoustic emission and its relationship to auditory sensitivity in normal hearing and cochlear hearing loss. J Acoust Soc Am 103:3431–3444 Lang H, Jyothi V, Smythe NM, Dubno JR, Schulte BA, Schmiedt RA (2010) Chronic reduction of endocochlear potential reduces auditory nerve activity: further confirmation of an animal model of metabolic presbyacusis. J Assoc Res Otolaryngol 11:419–434 Levitt H (1971) Transformed up-down methods in psychoacoustics. J Acoust Soc Am 49:467–477 Liberman MC, Dodds LW (1984) Single-neuron labeling and chronic cochlear pathology. III. Stereocilia damage and alterations of threshold tuning curves. Hear Res 16:55–74 Liberman MC, Dodds LW, Learson D (1986) Structure–function correlation in noise-damaged ears: a light and electron-microscopic study. In: Salvi R, Henderson D, Hamernik R, Colletti V (eds) Basic and applied aspects of noise-induced hearing loss. Plenum, New York, pp 163–176 Lilaonitkul W, Guinan JJ (2009) Reflex control of the human inner ear: a half-octave offset in medial efferent feedback that is consistent with an efferent role in the control of masking. J Neurophysiol 101:1394–1406 Loehlin JC (2004) Latent variable models: an introduction to factor, path, and structural equation analysis, 4th edn. Lawrence Erlbaum, Mahwah, pp 1–34 Lopez-Poveda EA, Alves-Pinto A (2008) A variant temporal masking curve method for inferring peripheral auditory compression. J Acoust Soc Am 123:1544–1554 Lopez-Poveda EA, Johannesen PT (2010) Towards designing a clinical method for estimating basilar response input/output response characteristics in listeners with normal and impaired hearing. Abstr Assoc Res Otolaryngol 33:47 Lopez-Poveda EA, Plack CJ, Meddis R (2003) Cochlear non-linearity between 500 and 8000 Hz in listeners with normal hearing. J Acoust Soc Am 113:951–960 Lopez-Poveda EA, Plack CJ, Meddis R (2005) Cochlear compression in listeners with moderate sensorineural hearing loss. Hear Res 205:172–183 Lopez-Poveda EA, Johannesen PT, Merchán MA (2009) Estimation of the degree of inner and outer hair cell dysfunction from distortion product otoacoustic emission input/output functions. Audiol Med 7:22–28 Maison SF, Liberman MC (2000) Predicting vulnerability to acoustic injury with a noninvasive assay of olivocochlear reflex strength. J Neurosci 20:4701–4707 Moore BCJ, Vickers DA, Plack CJ, Oxenham AJ (1999) Inter-relationship between different psychoacoustic measures assumed to be related to the cochlear active mechanism. J Acoust Soc Am 106:2761–2778 Neely ST, Gorga MP, Dorn PA (2003) Cochlear compression estimates from measurements of distortion-product otoacoustic emissions. J Acoust Soc Am 114:1499–1507 Nelson DA, Schroder AC (1997) Linearized response growth inferred from growth-of-masking slopes in ears with cochlear hearing loss. J Acoust Soc Am 101:2186–2201 Nelson DA, Schroder AC, Wojtczak M (2001) A new procedure for measuring peripheral compression in normal-hearing and hearing-impaired listeners. J Acoust Soc Am 110:2045–2064 Oxenham AJ, Bacon SP (2003) Cochlear compression: perceptual measures and implications for normal and impaired hearing. Ear Hear 24:352–366 Oxenham AJ, Plack CJ (1997) A behavioral measure of basilar-membrane nonlinearity in listeners with normal and impaired hearing. J Acoust Soc Am 101:3666–3675 Oxenham AJ, Moore BCJ, Vickers DA (1997) Short-term temporal integration: evidence for the influence of peripheral compression. J Acoust Soc Am 101:3676–3687 Plack CJ, Skeels V (2007) Temporal integration and compression near absolute threshold in normal and impaired ears. J Acoust Soc Am 122:2236–2244 Plack CJ, Drga V, Lopez-Poveda EA (2004) Inferred basilar-membrane response function for listeners with mild to moderate sensorineural hearing loss. J Acoust Soc Am 115:1684–1695 Plack CJ, Oxenham AJ, Drga V (2006) Masking by inaudible sounds and the linearity of temporal summation. J Neurosci 26:8767–8773 Reed CM, Braida LD, Zurek PM (2009) Review of the literature on temporal resolution in listeners with cochlear hearing impairment: a critical assessment of the role of suprathreshold deficits. Trends Amplif 13:4–43 Rhode WS, Cooper NP (1996) Nonlinear mechanics in the apical turn of the chinchilla cochlea in vivo. Aud Neurosci 3:101–121 Rhode WS, Recio A (2000) Study of mechanical motions in the basal region of the chinchilla cochlea. J Acoust Soc Am 107:3317–3332 Robles L, Ruggero MA (2001) Mechanics of the mammalian cochlea. Physiol Rev 81:1305–1352 Rosengard PS, Oxenham AJ, Braida LD (2005) Comparing different estimates of cochlear compression in listeners with normal and impaired hearing. J Acoust Soc Am 117:3028–3041 Ruggero MA (1992) Responses to sound of the basilar membrane of the mammalian cochlea. Curr Opin Neurobiol 2:449–456 Ruggero MA, Rich NC, Recio A, Narayan SS, Robles L (1997) Basilar-membrane responses to tones at the base of the chinchilla cochlea. J Acoust Soc Am 101:2151–2163 Scheidt RE, Kale S, Heinz MG (2010) Noise-induced hearing loss alters the temporal dynamics of auditory-nerve responses. Hear Res 269:23–33 Schmiedt RA, Mills JM, Adams JC (1990) Tuning and suppression in auditory nerve fibers of aged gerbils raised in quiet or noise. Hear Res 45:221–236 Schmiedt RA, Lang H, Okamura H, Schulte BA (2002) Effects of furosemide applied chronically to the round window: a model of metabolic presbycusis. J Neurosci 22:9643–9650 Shaffer LA, Withnell RH, Dhar S, Lilly DJ, Goodman SS, Harmon KM (2003) Sources and mechanisms of DPOAE generation: implications for the prediction of auditory sensitivity. Ear Hear 24:367–379 Shera CA, Guinan JJ (1999) Evoked otoacoustic emissions arise by two fundamentally different mechanisms: a taxonomy for mammalian OAEs. J Acoust Soc Am 105:782–798 Sommers MS, Gehr SE (1998) Auditory suppression and frequency selectivity in older and younger adults. J Acoust Soc Am 103:1067–1074 Stainsby TH, Moore BCJ (2006) Temporal masking curves for hearing-impaired listeners. Hear Res 218:98–111 Strouse A, Ashmead DH, Ohde RN, Grantham DW (1998) Temporal processing in the aging auditory system. J Acoust Soc Am 104:2385–2399 Williams EJ, Bacon SP (2005) Compression estimates using behavioral and otoacoustic emission measures. Hear Res 201:44–54 Wojtczak M, Oxenham AJ (2009) Pitfalls in behavioral estimates of basilar-membrane compression in humans. J Acoust Soc Am 125:270–281 Wojtczak M, Oxenham AJ (2010) Recovery from on- and off-frequency forward masking in listeners with normal and impaired hearing. J Acoust Soc Am 128:247–256 Yasin I, Plack CJ (2003) The effects of a high-frequency suppressor on tuning curves and derived basilar-membrane response functions. J Acoust Soc Am 114:322–332 Yates GK (1990) Basilar membrane nonlinearity and its influence on auditory nerve rate-intensity functions. Hear Res 50:145–162