Changes in distortion product oto-acoustic emissions after exposure to continuous and impulsive noise

Temporary changes in the hearing of human subjects were monitored with distortion product otoacoustic emissions (DPOAEs) after control sound exposures in a laboratory. The objectives of the experiment were to investigate whether the +5~dB penalty for impulsiveness used in international standards and legislation correlates to a higher risk of hearing damage. Subjects were exposed to two types of binaural recordings consisting of a continuous broad-band noise-exposure normalized to LEX,8h = 80~dB and the interaction of the previous stimulus with a noise of impulsive character normalized to LEX,8h = 75 + 5~dB penalty = 80~dB. The results show that the effects on DPOAE levels from the two stimuli could be compared in terms of their total acoustic energy.Temporary changes in the hearing of human subjects were monitored with distortion product otoacoustic emissions (DPOAEs) after control sound exposures in a laboratory. The objectives of the experiment were to investigate whether the +5~dB penalty for impulsiveness used in international standards and legislation correlates to a higher risk of hearing damage. Subjects were exposed to two types of binaural recordings consisting of a continuous broad-band noise-exposure normalized to LEX,8h = 80~dB and the interaction of the previous stimulus with a noise of impulsive character normalized to LEX,8h = 75 + 5~dB penalty = 80~dB. The results show that the effects on DPOAE levels from the two stimuli could be compared in terms of their total acoustic energy