An adaptive clinical test of temporal resolution: within-channel and across-channel gap detection.

Objective: Several methods exist to measure temporal resolution in a clinical setting. The Adaptive Tests of Temporal Resolution (ATTR©) are unique in that they incorporate an adaptive psychophysical procedure to present stimuli via computer sound card. The purpose of this study was to determine if ATTR gap detection thresholds (GDTs) were stable across presentation levels (80 dB SPL, listener-selected level) and sound cards (high-end, inexpensive).

Design: GDTs were measured using three conditions of the ATTR: broad-band noise within-channel (BBN-WC), narrowband noise within-channel (NBN-WC), and narrowband noise across-channel (NBN-AC). Analysis of the acoustical properties of ATTR stimuli was made by measuring the electrical signals produced by each sound card.

Study Sample: Participants were 30 young adults with normal hearing.

Results: The ATTR GDTs did not differ between presentation levels for all three stimulus conditions. Also, neither ATTR stimuli nor ATTR GDTs differed between sound cards for all conditions.

Conclusions: The ATTR may be used in a clinical setting with a relatively inexpensive sound card and listener-selected levels. Normative performance values for each ATTR condition are provided.