Olivocochlear efferent suppression in classical musicians.

Shanda M Brashears; Thierry G Morlet; Charles I Berlin; Linda J Hood

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PubMed · 14552425

Olivocochlear efferent suppression in classical musicians.

Shanda M Brashears·Thierry G Morlet·Charles I Berlin·Linda J Hood

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Abstract

Suppression of transient-evoked otoacoustic emissions was recorded from 29 members of the Louisiana Philharmonic Orchestra and 28 non-musician control subjects matched for age and gender. Binaural broad band noise was used as the suppressor stimulus in a forward masking paradigm. Results showed musicians to have significantly more suppression than non-musicians for both the right and left ears. Two possible explanations for this functional difference between groups are that moderately loud music serves as a sound conditioning stimulus and that music can be a mechanism for strengthening central auditory pathways which may influence the olivocochlear reflex arc. Possible explanations for this are discussed and ear, gender, and age differences within each group are examined. Additionally, middle-ear muscle reflex thresholds were found to be higher in musicians than non-musicians at some frequencies in some conditions.

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Acoustic Impedance Tests Adult Audiometry, Pure-Tone Auditory Pathways Cochlea Efferent Pathways Female Hearing Humans Male Middle Aged Olivary Nucleus Otoacoustic Emissions, Spontaneous Perceptual Masking Reflex, Acoustic Journal Article Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

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Shanda M Brashears, Thierry G Morlet, Charles I Berlin, Linda J Hood. 2003. Olivocochlear efferent suppression in classical musicians.. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/14552425/

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