Faculty
Health Science
Supervisor Name
Prudence Allen
Keywords
acoustic reflex, wideband absorbance, auditory processing disorder, speech perception
Description
Previous studies have suggested larger magnitudes and lower thresholds in ipsilateral acoustic reflexes when compared to contralateral acoustic reflexes. This pilot study explored these effects by measuring how sound is transmitted through the middle ear. Middle ear absorbance was measured in the ipsilateral and contralateral conditions with and without activation of the acoustic reflex in normal hearing adults. Data showed that ipsilateral acoustic reflex thresholds (ART) were approximately 5 dB lower than contralateral ARTs. The magnitude of the acoustic reflex was shown to be larger in the ipsilateral condition. Results suggest that there is an evident contrast between ipsilateral and contralateral absorbance values. When considering elevated or absent acoustic reflexes in children with auditory processing disorder (APD) and the role of the acoustic reflex on speech perception in the presence of noise, it is important to investigate this contrast with regards to current clinical diagnostic tests.
Acknowledgements
Thank you to Dr. Prudence Allen, Dr. Chris Allan, Minh Duong, Hasitha Wimalarathna, the USRI program, and the Faculty of Health Studies at Western University.
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial 4.0 License
Document Type
Paper
Presentation
USRI Presentation Slides.pdf (396 kB)
Presentation Slides
Included in
Acoustic Reflex Activation and its Effect on Middle Ear Function
Previous studies have suggested larger magnitudes and lower thresholds in ipsilateral acoustic reflexes when compared to contralateral acoustic reflexes. This pilot study explored these effects by measuring how sound is transmitted through the middle ear. Middle ear absorbance was measured in the ipsilateral and contralateral conditions with and without activation of the acoustic reflex in normal hearing adults. Data showed that ipsilateral acoustic reflex thresholds (ART) were approximately 5 dB lower than contralateral ARTs. The magnitude of the acoustic reflex was shown to be larger in the ipsilateral condition. Results suggest that there is an evident contrast between ipsilateral and contralateral absorbance values. When considering elevated or absent acoustic reflexes in children with auditory processing disorder (APD) and the role of the acoustic reflex on speech perception in the presence of noise, it is important to investigate this contrast with regards to current clinical diagnostic tests.