No Influence of Musicianship on the Effect of Contralateral Stimulation on Frequency Selectivity.
Emilia Tarnowska, Andrzej Wicher, Brian C J Moore
PMID 32840175WHAT IT FOUND
Musicianship did not change how noise in the opposite ear affected hearing sharpness.
The noise reduced sharpness in both groups, but the effect was similar for musicians and nonmusicians.
Key findings
01Musicians and nonmusicians did not differ overall in frequency selectivity.
02Mean Q10 was 4.38 with contralateral noise and 4.84 without it, indicating broader frequency selectivity with noise.
03The change in Q10 with contralateral noise was similar for musicians and nonmusicians: mean change 0.50 for musicians and 0.43 for nonmusicians.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they found
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What it does not show
The study included only 12 musicians and 12 nonmusicians, all young adults with normal hearing, so it does not show what happens in patients with hearing loss or auditory processing problems. The musicians were mostly violin or viola players with long formal training, so the result may not apply to musicians of other instruments or less intensive training. The outcome was a laboratory measure of frequency selectivity, not everyday listening, communication, or therapy outcomes. The authors noted that the masker itself may have activated efferent pathways and that signal suppression by the masker could have affected the contralateral noise results.
Declared interests
The article is marked as supported by non-U.S. government research, but the supplied text does not state a specific funder or author conflict-of-interest statement.
The easy way to misread this
Do not conclude that musicianship has no effect on hearing in general. This study tested only frequency selectivity and the effect of contralateral noise in young adults with normal hearing, not everyday listening or patients.