Using acoustic reflex threshold, auditory brainstem response and loudness judgments to investigate changes in neural gain following acute unilateral deprivation in normal hearing adults.

Using acoustic reflex threshold, auditory brainstem response and loudness judgments to investigate changes in neural gain following acute unilateral deprivation in normal hearing adults. Hear Res. 2017 Jan 13;: Authors: Brotherton H, Plack CJ, Schaette R, Munro KJ Abstract Unilateral auditory deprivation induces a reduction in the acoustic reflex threshold (ART) and an increase in loudness. These findings have been interpreted as a compensatory change in neural gain, governed by changes in excitatory and inhibitory neural inputs. There is also evidence to suggest that changes in neural gain can be measured using the auditory brainstem response (ABR). The present study extended Munro et al. (2014) [J. Acoust. Soc. Am. 135, 315-322] by investigating changes after 4 days of unilateral earplug use to: (i) ART, (ii) auditory brainstem response (ABR) and (iii) loudness. Because changes may occur during the post-deprivation test session (day 4), ART measurements were taken 1 hour and 2 hours post-earplug removal. There was a significant reduction in ART in the treatment ear immediately after the removal of the earplug, which is consistent with a compensatory increase in neural gain. A novel finding was the significant return of ARTs to baseline within 2 hours of earplug removal. A second novel finding was a significant decrease in the mean amplitude of ABR wave V in the treatment ear, but a significant increase in the control ear, both afte...
Source: Hearing Research - Category: Audiology Authors: Tags: Hear Res Source Type: research