Reaction time measures loudness in animals and language-disabled people

Evidence

Because loudness can be difficult to measure, using alternative methods such as reaction time to characterize loudness has value for research and clinical purposes. Certain populations, like animals or people with significant language disabilities, cannot always provide loudness judgments like those described in this chapter. Consequently, using reaction time as a correlate of loudness has been gaining traction in animal models and has proven valuable in establishing animal models for auditory disorders (e.g., Lauer & Dooling, 2007). … For example, recent studies have applied reaction time techniques in the development of models of hyperacusis, an increased sensitivity to sounds. Reaction times would be expected to be faster in the presence of hyperacusis (Hébert, Fournier, & Noreña, 2013), and therefore reaction time may provide a fast and reliable way to measure loudness in large groups of people. — Jennifer Lentz, Psychoacoustics- Perception of Normal…, 792

Categorization

• QUESTION: Could reaction-time loudness testing be applied to hearing-impaired infants who cannot report loudness judgments — a clinical screening avenue worth chasing?
• corroborated: 2 independent passages support this claim — Jennifer Lentz, Psychoacoustics- Perception of Normal…, 792
• XREF: connects to: Reaction time measures loudness across the full hearing range — Jennifer Lentz, Psychoacoustics- Perception of Normal…, 792; Hearing is highly sensitive to temporal changes in sound — Ville Pulkki, Matti Karjalainen, Communication Acoustics- An…, 685

Broader Connections

• Reaction time measures loudness across the full hearing range #expands (0.85) — Jennifer Lentz, Psychoacoustics- Perception of Normal…, 792
• Hearing is highly sensitive to temporal changes in sound #corroborates (0.75) — Ville Pulkki, Matti Karjalainen, Communication Acoustics- An…, 685