Thresholds for formant-frequency discrimination were obtained ten synthetic English vowels patterned after a female talker. To estimate the resolution of auditory system these stimuli, thresholds measured using well-trained subjects under minimal-stimulus- uncertainty procedures. estimated both increments and decrements in formant frequency first second formants. Reliable measurements threshold most formants tested, exceptions occurring when harmonic fundamental was aligned with center test...

Performance on 19 auditory discrimination and identification tasks was measured for 340 listeners with normal hearing. Test stimuli included single tones, sequences of amplitude-modulated rippled noise, temporal gaps, speech, environmental sounds. Principal components analysis structural equation modeling the data support existence a general ability four specific abilities. The abilities are (1) loudness duration (overall energy) discrimination; (2) sensitivity to envelope variation; (3)...

Auditory discrimination abilities of professional musicians were compared with those nonmusicians. The stimuli for the frequency-discrimination tasks 300-msec sinusoidal tones, square waves, and tone patterns consisting ten 40-msec tones played sequentially. musicians’ difference thresholds single between Δf /f=0.001 0.0045. One-half nonmusicians attained almost as low; rest larger thresholds, up to /f=0.017. results pattern show a clearer separation musicians, whose median about three times...

Levels of monaural signals at behavioral threshold were determined by a psychophysical method adjustment for seven highly trained listeners. Thresholds studied as function signal frequency (octave steps, from 0.125 to 8 kHz) and duration (logarithmic 16 1024 msec). Measurements made in the presence contralateral broad-band masking noise with spectrum level 30 dB SPL. The time constant, τ estimated least 12 replications each measurement, was found range systematically values considered normal...

This is the second in a series of articles human listeners’ abilities to discriminate between word-length tonal sequences, or ’’patterns.’’ The first article reported that frequency resolution, by highly trained listeners, four five times more accurate for high-frequency, late-occurring components such sequences than low−frequency early [Watson, Kelly, and Benbasset, J. Acoust. Soc. Am. 57, 1175–1185 (l975)]. These effects, which are similar described as ’’recognition masking’’...

Three experiments tested listeners’ ability to identify 70 diverse environmental sounds using limited spectral information. Experiment 1 employed low- and high-pass filtered with filter cutoffs ranging from 300 8000 Hz. Listeners were quite good (>50% correct) at identifying the even when severely filtered; for filters, performance was never below 70%. 2 used octave-wide bandpass center frequencies 212 6788 Hz found that higher filters 70%–80% correct, whereas lower listeners achieved...

Background: An estimated 36 million US citizens have impaired hearing, but nearly half of them never had a hearing test. As noted by recent National Institutes Health/National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders (NIH/NIDCD) Working Group, “In the United States (in contrast to many other nations) there are no readily accessible low cost screening programs…” (Donahue et al, 2010, p. 2). Since 2004, telephone administered tests utilizing three-digit sequences presented in...

Factors which determine the discriminability of tonal sequences, or patterns, were investigated in five experiments. The patterns generally sequences ten 40-msec components, ranged frequency from 256 to 900 Hz, 500 1500 equi-log intervals. Highly trained (15 60 h training prior collecting experimental data) listeners’ abilities detect changes single components these measured using a same–different psychophysical method. just-detectable values Δf (d′=1.0) only slightly larger than for tones...

In one portion of a fixed-interval-observation experiment, observers indicated their certainty that 500-cps signal had been presented in thermal-noise background by positioning slider after each interval. second this the responded making binary decisions. Slider positions were treated as typical confidence ratings; conditional probability given rating or indicating greater confidence, plus noise, was plotted against these ratings, noise alone. Functions produced manner, for scale divided...

Masked thresholds were obtained by the method of behavioral audiometry fur each four cats at eleven frequencies over range from 125 to 16 000 cps. Bands noise, which approximately one two octaves wide, as well broad bands used masking stimuli. Experiment I shows that function relating noise level has exactly same form for cat man; signal to-noise ratios, however, are greater than man. The critical ratio (K) is defined power spectrum masked threshold. K frequency was determined in experiment...

A subject was exposed on two occasions to an octave band of thermal noise centered at 500 Hz. The first exposure for 48 h 81.5 dB SPL. Five weeks later, the second 29.5 92.5 Auditory function evaluated by several types measurements made prior exposure, during periods quiet interspersed within and various times after exposure. Temporary threshold shift (TTS) measured 4 min (TTS4) increased 8–12 then remained constant as continued. At 750 Hz, value TTS4 asymptote 10.5 81.5-dB 27.5 92.5-dB...

While a large portion of the variance among listeners in speech recognition is associated with audibility components waveform, it not possible to predict individual differences accuracy processing strictly from audiogram. This has suggested that some may be spectral or temporal resolving power, acuity. Psychoacoustic measures spectral-temporal acuity nonspeech stimuli have been shown, however, correlate only weakly (or at all) processing. In replication and extension an earlier study [Watson...

Two experiments were run to determine whether individual differences in auditory speech-recognition abilities are significantly correlated with those for speech reading (lipreading), employing a total sample of 90 normal-hearing college students. Tests included single words and sentences, recorded on videodisc by male speaker [Bernstein Eberhardt, Johns Hopkins Lipreading Corpus, The University, Baltimore, MD, 1986]. was presented white noise masker, at −7 dB Sp/N. correlations between...

Listeners’ abilities to learn hear all the details of an initially unfamiliar sequence ten 45-ms tones were studied by tracking detection thresholds for each tonal component over a prolonged period training. After repeated listening this sequence, presence or absence individual could be recognized, even though they attenuated 40–50 dB relative remainder pattern. Threshold-tracking histories suggest that listeners tend employ two different learning strategies, one which is considerably more...

Twelve highly trained listeners detected tonal signals in the absence of external masking noise. The were 150 msec long and ranged from 125 to 4000 Hz. Fitted psychometric functions steeper at high than low frequencies requiring between 3- 8-dB increase signal level raise performance 60% 95% correct. levels that yield 76% correct detection a two-alternative, forced-choice psychophysical procedure good agreement with International Standards Organization's recommended values audiometric zero....

Objective: The Dutch digits-in-noise test (NL DIN) and the American-English version (US are speech-in-noise tests for diagnostic clinical usage. present study investigated differences between NL DIN US speech reception thresholds (SRTs) a group of native Dutch-speaking listeners. Design: In experiment 1, repeated-measures design was used to compare SRTs in steady-state noise interrupted monaural, diotic, dichotic listening conditions. 2, subset these conditions with additional material (i.e....

Standardized sensory, perceptual, linguistic, intellectual, and cognitive tests were administered to 470 children, approximately 96% of the students entering first grade in four elementary schools Benton County, Indiana, over a 3-year period (1995-1997). The results 36 subtests graders well described by 4-factor solution. These factors that loaded most heavily on them reading-related skills (phonological awareness, letter word identification); visual cognition (visual perceptual abilities,...