Temporal Integration: Its Relationship with Noise-Induced Hearing Loss

Abstract

Hearing thresholds at 0.5, 1, 2, 3, 4, and 6 kHz were measured with 20-msec and 500-msec tones for 14 normal hearers and 23 subjects with noise-induced hearing loss. The differences between the hearing thresholds of the long- and short-duration tones were plotted as a function of frequency (temporal integration function). Preliminary data from this study suggest that temporal integration function is more closely related to the configuration of the audiogram than the hearing threshold level when data of an individual are concerned. The results also support the notion that temporal integration function is affected by the presence of ‘subclinical’ cochlear lesions.