Binaural masking level differences shrink 2-4 dB with age at normal hearing thresholds

Evidence

Several researchers have compared BMLDs for young and older subjects with (near-) normal hearing (Pichora-Fuller and Schneider 1991 , 1992 ; Grose et al. 1994 ; Strouse et al. 1998 ). All showed that BMLDs (usually for a 500-Hz signal frequency) were smaller for older than for young subjects, typically by 2–4 dB. In summary, binaural TFS processing deteriorates with increasing age, even when audiometric thresholds are within the normal range. — Dijk, Pim van, Physiology, Psychoacoustics and…, 796

Categorization

• corroborated: 2 independent passages support this claim — Dijk, Pim van, Physiology, Psychoacoustics and…, 796