Abstract
Psychoacoustic functions relating the depth and duration of tinnitus
suppression ('residual inhibition') to the center frequency of band-passed
noise masking sounds appear to span the region of hearing loss, as
do psychoacoustic measurements of the tinnitus spectrum. The results
(1) suggest that cortical map reorganization induced by hearing loss
is not the principal source of the tinnitus sensation and (2) provide
a necessary baseline for optimizing residual inhibition in individual
cases.To measure residual inhibition functions and tinnitus spectra
using sounds spanning the region of hearing loss.Three subject-driven,
computer-based tools were developed and applied to measure psychoacoustic
properties of tinnitus and residual inhibition in 32 subjects with
chronic tonal, ringing, or hissing tinnitus. Residual inhibition
functions were measured with band-passed noise sounds varying in
center frequency up to 12.0 kHz.The depth and duration of residual
inhibition increased with the center frequency of the band-passed
noise stimuli. Near-elimination of tinnitus for up to 45 s was reported
by 8/24 (33\%) subjects at center frequencies above 3 kHz (these
cases distributed across tinnitus types). Tinnitus spectra covered
the region of hearing loss with no preponderance of frequencies near
the audiometric edge of normal hearing.
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