Intensity discrimination as a function of level and frequency and its relation to high-frequency hearing

This paper examines how intensity discrimination depends on the test frequency, the level, and the subjects's high-frequency hearing. Three experiments were performed. In the first experiment, intensity discrimination of pulsed tones was measured as a function of level at 1 and 14 kHz in five listeners. Results show less deviation from Weber's law at 14 kHz than at 1 kHz. In the second experiment, intensity discrimination was measured for a 1-kHz tone at 90-dB SPL as a function of the cutoff frequency of a high-pass masking noise in two listeners. Results show that the audibility of very high frequencies is important for frequency discrimination at 1 kHz. The DL increased by a factor between 1.5 and 2.0 as the cutoff frequency of the noise was lowered from 19 to 6 kHz. In the third experiment, thresholds from 6 to 20 kHz and intensity discrimination for a 1-kHz tone was measured in 12 listeners. Results show that the DLs at 80-dB SPL are correlated with the ability to hear very high frequencies. Results of all three experiments are consistent with the multiband version of the excitation-pattern model for intensity discrimination [Florentine and Buus, J. Acoust. Soc. Am. 70, 1646-1654 (1981)].     

A test of the equal-loudness-ratio hypothesis using cross-modality matching functions

This study tests the Equal-Loudness-Ratio hypothesis [Florentine et al., J. Acoust. Soc. Am. 99, 1633-1644 (1996)], which states that the loudness ratio between equal-SPL long and short tones is independent of SPL. The amount of temporal integration (i.e., the level difference between equally loud short and long sounds) is maximal at moderate levels. Therefore, the Equal-Loudness-Ratio hypothesis predicts that the loudness function is shallower at moderate levels than at low and high levels. Equal-loudness matches and cross-modality string-length matches were used to assess the form of the loudness function for 5 and 200 ms tones at 1 kHz and the loudness ratio between them. Results from nine normal listeners show that (1) the amount of temporal integration is largest at moderate levels, in agreement with previous studies, and (2) the loudness functions are shallowest at moderate levels. For eight of the nine listeners, the loudness ratio between the 200 and 5 ms tones is approximately constant, except at low levels where it tends to increase. The average data show good agreement between the two methods, but discrepancies are apparent for some individuals. These findings support the Equal-Loudness-Ratio hypothesis, except at low levels.     

Loudness of brief tones measured by magnitude estimation and loudness matching

McFadden [J. Acoust. Soc. Am. 57, 702-704 (1975)] questioned the accuracy and reliability of magnitude estimation for measuring loudness of tones that vary both in duration and level, whereas Stevens and Hall [Percept. Psychophys. 1, 319-327 (1966)] reported reasonable group data. To gain insight into this discrepancy, the present study compares loudness measures for 5- and 200-ms tones using magnitude estimation and equal-loudness matches from the same listeners. Results indicate that both procedures provide rapid and accurate assessments of group loudness functions for brief tones, but may not be reliable enough to reveal specific characteristics of loudness in individual listeners.     

Dissolution and storage stability of nanostructured calcium carbonates and phosphates for nutrition

Rapid calcium (Ca) dissolution from nanostructured Ca phosphate and carbonate (CaCO₃) powders may allow them to be absorbed in much higher fraction in humans. Nanosized Ca phosphate and CaCO₃ made by flame-assisted spray pyrolysis were characterized by nitrogen adsorption, X-ray diffraction (XRD), Raman spectroscopy, and transmission electron microscopy. As-prepared nanopowders contained both CaCO₃ and CaO, but storing them under ambient conditions over 130 days resulted in a complete transformation into CaCO₃, with an increase in both crystal and particle sizes. The small particle size could be stabilized against such aging by cation (Mg, Zn, Sr) and anion (P) doping, with P and Mg being most effective. Calcium phosphate nanopowders made at Ca:P ≤ 1.5 were XRD amorphous and contained γ-Ca₂P₂O₇ with increasing hydroxyapatite content at higher Ca:P. Aging of powders with Ca:P = 1.0 and 1.5 for over 500 days gradually increased particle size (but less than for CaCO₃) without a change in phase composition or crystallinity. In 0.01 M H₃PO₄ calcium phosphate nanopowders dissolved ≈4 times more Ca than micronsized compounds and about twice more Ca than CaCO₃ nanopowders, confirming that nanosizing and/or amorphous structuring sharply increases Ca powder dissolution. Because higher Ca solubility in vitro generally leads to greater absorption in vivo, these novel FASP-made Ca nanostructured compounds may prove useful for nutrition applications, including supplementation and/or food fortification.     

Temporal integration of loudness in listeners with hearing losses of primarily cochlear origin.

To investigate how hearing loss of primarily cochlear origin affects the loudness of brief tones, loudness matches between 5- and 200-ms tones were obtained as a function of level for 15 listeners with cochlear impairments and for seven age-matched controls. Three frequencies, usually 0.5, 1, and 4 kHz, were tested in each listener using a two-interval, two--alternative forced--choice (2I, 2AFC) paradigm with a roving-level, up-down adaptive procedure. Results for the normal listeners generally were consistent with published data [e.g., Florentine et al., J. Acoust Soc. Am. 99, 1633-1644 (1996)]. The amount of temporal integration--defined as the level difference between equally loud short and long tones--varied nonmonotonically with level and was largest at moderate levels. No consistent effect of frequency was apparent. The impaired listeners varied widely, but most showed a clear effect of level on the amount of temporal integration. Overall, their results appear consistent with expectations based on knowledge of the general properties of their loudness-growth functions and the equal-loudness-ratio hypothesis, which states that the loudness ratio between equal-SPL long and brief tones is the same at all SPLs. The impaired listeners' amounts of temporal integration at high SPLs often were larger than normal, although it was reduced near threshold. When evaluated at equal SLs, the amount of temporal integration well above threshold usually was in the low end of the normal range. Two listeners with abrupt high-frequency hearing losses (slopes > 50 dB/octave) showed larger-than-normal maximal amounts of temporal integration (40 to 50 dB). This finding is consistent with the shallow loudness functions predicted by our excitation-pattern model for impaired listeners [Florentine et al., in Modeling Sensorineural Hearing Loss, edited by W. Jesteadt (Erlbaum, Mahwah, NJ, 1997), pp. 187-198]. Loudness functions derived from impaired listeners' temporal-integration functions indicate that restoration of loudness in listeners with cochlear hearing loss usually will require the same gain whether the sound is short or long.     

Binaural loudness summation for speech presented via earphones and loudspeaker with and without visual cues

Preliminary data [M. Epstein and M. Florentine, Ear. Hear. 30, 234-237 (2009)] obtained using speech stimuli from a visually present talker heard via loudspeakers in a sound-attenuating chamber indicate little difference in loudness when listening with one or two ears (i.e., significantly reduced binaural loudness summation, BLS), which is known as "binaural loudness constancy." These data challenge current understanding drawn from laboratory measurements that indicate a tone presented binaurally is louder than the same tone presented monaurally. Twelve normal listeners were presented recorded spondees, monaurally and binaurally across a wide range of levels via earphones and a loudspeaker with and without visual cues. Statistical analyses of binaural-to-monaural ratios of magnitude estimates indicate that the amount of BLS is significantly less for speech presented via a loudspeaker with visual cues than for stimuli with any other combination of test parameters (i.e., speech presented via earphones or a loudspeaker without visual cues, and speech presented via earphones with visual cues). These results indicate that the loudness of a visually present talker in daily environments is little affected by switching between binaural and monaural listening. This supports the phenomenon of binaural loudness constancy and underscores the importance of ecological validity in loudness research.     

Temporal integration in normal hearing, cochlear impairment, and impairment simulated by masking

To assess temporal integration in normal hearing, cochlear impairment, and impairment simulated by masking, absolute thresholds for tones were measured as a function of duration. Durations ranged from 500 ms down to 15 ms at 0.25 kHz, 8 ms at 1 kHz, and 2 ms at 4 and 14 kHz. An adaptive 2I, 2AFC procedure with feedback was used. On each trial, two 500-ms observation intervals, marked by lights, were presented with an interstimulus interval of 250 ms. The monaural signal was presented in the temporal center of one observation interval. The results for five normal and six impaired listeners show: (1) normal listeners' thresholds decrease by about 8 to 10 dB per decade of duration, as expected; (2) listeners with cochlear impairments generally show less temporal integration than normal listeners; and (3) listeners with impairments simulated using masking noise generally show the same amount of temporal integration as normal listeners tested in the quiet. The difference between real and simulated impairments indicates that the reduced temporal integration observed in impaired listeners probably is not due to splatter of energy to frequency regions where thresholds are low, but reflects reduced temporal integration per se.