When Noise Gets on Your Nerves: Optimizing Differential Diagnosis of Hearing Disorders

Abstract

By Brice Coolidge, Communication Sciences & Disorders; Annika Hubers, Communication Sciences and Disorders

Advisor: Brian Earl

Presentation ID: PM_B09

Abstract: Measuring acoustic reflexes with high-intensity sounds is a tool used by clinical audiologists to assess the state of an individual's auditory nerve. This research study uses narrowband noise to establish the normative range for acoustic reflex growth functions. Narrowband noise is hypothesized to trigger acoustic reflexes at lower sound intensities than the more commonly-used tonal stimuli. Results from twenty normal-hearing individuals indicated average reflexes at 72 decibels for narrowband noise, and at 87 decibels for tonal stimuli. This difference allows the growth function to be mapped out across a minimum range of 15 decibels, and potentially differentiate between hearing disorders such as listening difficulty in noisy environments and hyper-sensitivity to loud sounds.