Elevated gap detection thresholds in hearing loss stem from threshold elevation, not temporal pathology

Evidence

The effect of level on the gap detection threshold has clear implications for the ultimate utility of using gap detection as a clinical test of temporal acuity. A listener must be presented with a stimulus that is well above his threshold in order to achieve the lowest threshold possible. Thus, gap detection thresholds can be difficult to interpret when measured in listeners who have large amounts of hearing loss. — Jennifer Lentz, Psychoacoustics- Perception of Normal…, 964

The effect of level on the gap detection threshold has clear implications for the ultimate utility of using gap detection as a clinical test of temporal acuity. A listener must be presented with a stimulus that is well above his threshold in order to achieve the lowest threshold possible. Thus, gap detection thresholds can be difficult to interpret when measured in listeners who have large amounts of hearing loss. … This is a problem if this test were used diagnostically in isolation — a high gap detection threshold does not automatically imply poor temporal processing, particularly if the patient has a hearing loss. — Jennifer Lentz, Psychoacoustics- Perception of Normal…, 964

Categorization

• DEFINE: Explains the confound: elevated threshold from hearing loss can mask a genuine temporal-processing deficit.
• QUESTION: This confound — elevated thresholds disguising temporal deficits — seems directly parallel to the audiology reading purpose; worth chasing what corrected measures exist.
• corroborated: 3 independent passages support this claim — Jennifer Lentz, Psychoacoustics- Perception of Normal…, 964
• XREF: connects to: Reversible threshold shifts after noise exposure mask ongoing neural degeneration; Neural hearing damage occurs without measurable threshold elevation; Auditory neuropathy elevates gap detection thresholds threefold above normal — Dijk, Pim van, Physiology, Psychoacoustics and…, 3380 (+7 more)

Broader Connections

• Gap detection and amplitude modulation remain intact in sensorineural hearing loss #corroborates (0.95)
• Differential metrics can separate cochlear gain loss from temporal coding deficits in hearing loss #expands (0.80) — Dijk, Pim van, Physiology, Psychoacoustics and…, 5870
• Recovered hearing thresholds can mask permanent neural damage #expands (0.75) — , Toole, Floyd E - Sound reproduction-…, 1815
• Reduced target audibility, not spatial processing loss, explains much of the hearing-loss speech deficit #complicates (0.70) — Dijk, Pim van, Physiology, Psychoacoustics and…, 1719
• Hidden hearing loss can impair speech in noise without raising thresholds #complicates (0.70)
• Hearing loss does not change the psychometric function’s 12-dB detection range #corroborates (0.70) — Jennifer Lentz, Psychoacoustics- Perception of Normal…, 307