The ongoing search for cochlear synaptopathy in humans: Masked thresholds for brief tones in Threshold Equalizing Noise.

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  • Additional Information
    • Source:
      Publisher: Elsevier/North-Holland Biomedical Press Country of Publication: Netherlands NLM ID: 7900445 Publication Model: Print-Electronic Cited Medium: Internet ISSN: 1878-5891 (Electronic) Linking ISSN: 03785955 NLM ISO Abbreviation: Hear Res Subsets: MEDLINE
    • Publication Information:
      Original Publication: Amsterdam, Elsevier/North-Holland Biomedical Press.
    • Subject Terms:
      Hearing* ; Perceptual Masking* ; Pitch Perception*; Cochlea/*physiopathology ; Hearing Loss/*physiopathology ; Tinnitus/*physiopathology; Acoustic Stimulation ; Adult ; Auditory Threshold ; Case-Control Studies ; Female ; Hearing Loss/psychology ; Humans ; Male ; Noise/adverse effects ; Pitch Discrimination ; Tinnitus/diagnosis ; Tinnitus/psychology
    • Abstract:
      This study aimed to advance towards a clinical diagnostic method for detection of cochlear synaptopathy with the hypothesis that synaptopathy should be manifested in elevated masked thresholds for brief tones. This hypothesis was tested in tinnitus sufferers, as they are thought to have some degree of synaptopathy. Near-normal-hearing tinnitus sufferers and their matched controls were asked to detect pure tones with durations of 5, 10, 100, and 200 ms presented in low- and high-level Threshold Equalizing Noise. In addition, lifetime noise exposure was estimated for all participants. Contrary to the hypothesis, there was no significant difference in masked thresholds for brief tones between tinnitus sufferers and their matched controls. Masked thresholds were also not related to lifetime noise exposure. There are two possible explanations of the results: 1) the participants in our study did not have cochlear synaptopathy, or 2) synaptopathy does not lead to elevated masked thresholds for brief tones. This study adds a new approach to the growing list of behavioral methods that attempted to detect potential signs of cochlear synaptopathy in humans.
      (Copyright © 2020 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)
    • Grant Information:
      MR/K018094/1 United Kingdom MRC_ Medical Research Council; United Kingdom DH_ Department of Health
    • Contributed Indexing:
      Keywords: Audiometry; Cochlear synaptopathy; Hidden hearing loss; Noise exposure; Temporal integration; Tinnitus
    • Publication Date:
      Date Created: 20200426 Date Completed: 20210823 Latest Revision: 20210823
    • Publication Date:
      20240829
    • Accession Number:
      10.1016/j.heares.2020.107960
    • Accession Number:
      32334105