Estimation of auditory compression and filter shape of elderly listeners using notched noise masking
Notched noise (NN) masking and the compressive GammaChirp (cGC) auditory filter have recently been used to estimate auditory compression and filter shape simultaneously with young normal hearing (NH) listeners. This paper reports an extension of the paradigm to measure compression and filter shape in elderly listeners with a range of hearing losses. Six elderly listeners (65 75 year old, male) participated in a compact NN experiment with one probe frequency, 2.0 kHz. There were 21 NN conditions chosen to maximize sensitivity to compression in the mid level range. The listeners' hearing levels (HLs) at 2.0 kHz ranged from 10 to 50 dB. The cGC filter was fitted to the threshold data to derive level dependent filter shapes of individuals and their cochlear compression functions. The slope of the central portion of the compression function was normal for all of the listeners except the one with the 50 dB HL, whose slope was close to unity >0.8 dB/dB) The filter bandwidths were marginally wider than those of.