The relationship between frequency selectivity and pitch discrimination: Sensorineural hearing loss

摘要

This study tested the relationship between frequency selectivity and the minimum spacing between harmonics necessary for accurate f(0) discrimination. Fundamental frequency difference limens (f(0) DLs) were measured for ten listeners with moderate sensorineural hearing loss (SNHL) and three normal-hearing listeners for sine- and random-phase harmonic complexes, bandpass filtered between 1500 and 3500 Hz, with f(0)'s ranging from 75 to 500 Hz (or higher). All listeners showed a transition between small (good) f(0) DLs at high f(0)'s and large (poor) f(0) DLs at low f(0)'s, although the f(0) at which this transition occurred (f(0,tr)) varied across listeners. Three measures thought to reflect frequency selectivity were significantly correlated to both the f(0,tr) and the minimum f(0) DL achieved at high f(0)'s: (1) the maximum f(0) for which f(0) DLs were phase dependent, (2) the maximum modulation frequency for which amplitude modulation and quasi-frequency modulation were discriminable, and (3) the equivalent rectangular bandwidth of the auditory filter, estimated using the notched-noise method. These results provide evidence of a relationship between f(0) discrimination performance and frequency selectivity in listeners with SNHL, supporting "spectral" and "spectro-temporal" theories of pitch perception that rely on sharp tuning in the auditory periphery to accurately extract f(0) information. (c) 2006 Acoustical Society of America.