The Tuning Curve in Clinical Audiology

¹ Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA

cfhalpin{at}meei.harvard.edu

This article will explore the audiograms formed by the expected psychophysical thresholds from single, normally functioning inner hair cells. Like the audiogram formed by the vibrotactile response region, these psychophysical tuning curves represent fundamental limits in audiometry since they are the worst possible thresholds expected, even if no other cells are functioning. These examples can be put to many uses, but the most important lesson of the hypothetical tuning curve audiogram is that whereas each cell gives rise to thresholds across many frequencies, it cannot be expected to transmit more than one cell's worth of speech information. In the clinic, this means that even when many frequencies respond on the audiogram, there may be a much more restricted set of actual cells remaining in the cochlea, and only these remaining cells will respond, for example, to hearing aids.

Key Words: hearing loss, audiogram, hearing aid, tuning curve

Submitted on June 25, 2002
Accepted on November 26, 2002