Psychophysical tuning curves and recognition of highpass and lowpass filtered speech for a person with an inverted V-shaped audiogram

A single subject whose audiogram resembled an inverted V shape (good hearing at 4000 Hz, and poorer hearing at other frequencies) was tested. Results of the threshold-equalizing noise test suggested that a dead region (DR) in the cochlea was present at all test frequencies from 500 to 3000 Hz, but no DR was present at 4000 Hz. Psychophysical tuning curves (PTCs) obtained using signal frequencies of 2000, 3000, 4000, and 6000 Hz showed upward shifted tips for the lowest two signal frequencies, and a downward shifted tip for the highest frequency. The results of the PTCs suggested a functioning region extending from 3900 to 5100 Hz, with DRs outside that range. The identification of nonsense syllables, amplified according to the "Cambridge formula," was measured as a function of lowpass or highpass filter cutoff frequency. The results suggested that useful speech information could only be extracted from a limited frequency range around 4000 Hz.