Influence of Stimulus Duration on the Pure-Tone Threshold During Recovery from Auditory Fatigue

Abstract

Comparison of the threshold shifts for 500, 50, and 5 milliseconds short tones following a two-minute exposure to thermal noise at an over-all sound pressure level of 110 db, re 0.0002 microbar, revealed a disturbance of the pre-exposure time-intensity relationship for threshold during the post-exposure period. The pattern of this disturbance was similar to that which has been described by other investigators in the ear with organ-of-Corti-type hearing loss. Thirty seconds after the termination of the noise the pre-exposure intensity differential among these three short tone durations was markedly reduced. As post-exposure time increased, the decline in the degree of temporary hearing loss was accompanied by a gradual return to the pre-exposure time-intensity relationship.