Release of Masking (masking level difference), Quick-Sin and Contralateral Suppression of DPOAEs in Musicians and Non-Musicians

Abstract

The behavioral and physiological tests involving the combination of contralateral suppression of otoacoustic emissions (OAEs), Quick Speech in noise (Quick-SIN) and masking level difference (MLD) tests provides an overall picture about the physiology of afferent and efferent pathway and about masking and release of masking. To investigate these differences in physiology between musicians and non-musicians, the study aimed at evaluating the effect of musical training on Quick SIN, contralateral suppression of OAE and MLD. 15 musicians and 15 non-musicians underwent Quick SIN test in Kannada, distortion product OAE (DPOAE) recording with and without noise, and MLD testing using pure tones. The results revealed significantly better performance in musicians on contralateral suppression of OAEs and Quick SIN test compared to non-musicians. Significant difference in suppression amplitude across the frequencies tested were observed for both musicians and non-musicians. However MLD did not reveal a significant difference between the two groups and across the MLD frequencies tested. For both the groups, significant level of correlation was present between few of the parameters tested. Hence it can be concluded that musical training strengthens the afferent and efferent pathway and thus aids in speech perception abilities in the presence of noise. Hence, musical training can be one of the choice of intervention for individuals with speech perception in noise difficulties. One should consider the musical experience of the individual for an appropriate test interpretation and diagnosis.