Contribution of Spectral and Temporal Cues in Timbre Recognition among Normal-Hearing and Hearing-Impaired People

Background and Aim: Timbre perception is a multidimensional feature of music perception and hearing loss may deteriorate timbre and instrument recognition. Deficits in timbre recognition may originate from poor temporal or spectral coding of musical notes subsequent to hearing loss However, it is not well understood which of these features are more dominant in instrument recognition with normal hearing and hearing loss. This study aimed to evaluate the relative importance of temporal and spectral cues instrument recognition in people with and without nearing loss. Methods: Two groups of adults with normal-hearing and hearing loss were tested with the timbre subtest of the Clinical Assessment of Music Perception (CAMP). Originally, a series of notes is played with eight musical instruments and participants were asked to identify the played instrument among them. In two other conditions, either the rise time or spectral cues of the same notes were masked using a special masking technique. Among eight instruments. Results: Instrument recognition scores were not significantly different between the original and spectral-manipulated conditions but were lower at the temporal-manipulated condition. The difference between the two groups was significant (p<0.05), where the normal-hearing group recognized the musical instruments significantly better than participants with hearing loss group (p<0.05). Conclusion: Temporal cues may have greater importance on timbre recognition regardless of hearing status. This suggests that the interventions and assistive devices which are designed to improve timbre recognition for people with hearing loss should prioritize improvement in temporal coding.