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Development of a method for determining binaural sensitivity to temporal fine structure.

Published version
Peer-reviewed

Type

Article

Change log

Authors

Füllgrabe, Christian  ORCID logo  https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9127-8136
Harland, Andrew J 
Sęk, Aleksander P 

Abstract

OBJECTIVE: To develop and evaluate a test of the ability to process binaural temporal-fine-structure (TFS) information. The test was intended to provide a graded measure of TFS sensitivity for all listeners. DESIGN: Sensitivity to TFS was assessed at a sensation level of 30 dB using the established TFS-LF test at centre frequencies of 250, 500 and 750 Hz, and using the new TFS-AF test, in which the interaural phase difference (IPD) was fixed and the frequency was adaptively varied. IPDs varied from 30 to 180°. STUDY SAMPLE: Nine young (19-25 years) and 23 older (47-84 years) listeners with normal hearing over the tested frequency range. RESULTS: For the young listeners, thresholds on the TFS-AF test did not improve significantly with repeated testing. The rank-ordering of performance across listeners was independent of the size of the IPD, and moderate-to-strong correlations were observed between scores for the TFS-LF and TFS-AF tests. Older listeners who were unable to complete the TFS-LF test were all able to complete the TFS-AF test. CONCLUSIONS: No practice effects and strong correlations with an established test of binaural TFS sensitivity make the TFS-AF test a good candidate for the assessment of supra-threshold binaural processing.

Description

Keywords

Psychoacoustics/hearing science, adult or general hearing screening, aging, behavioural measures, Acoustic Stimulation, Adult, Age Factors, Aged, Aged, 80 and over, Audiometry, Auditory Threshold, Female, Hearing Disorders, Humans, Male, Middle Aged, Persons With Hearing Impairments, Pitch Perception, Predictive Value of Tests, Reproducibility of Results, Young Adult

Journal Title

Int J Audiol

Conference Name

Journal ISSN

1499-2027
1708-8186

Volume Title

56

Publisher

Informa UK Limited
Sponsorship
Rosetrees Trust (JS16/M264)
Leicester Foundation (JS16/M264)
Medical Research Council (G8717539)