MEDIAL OLIVOCOCHLEAR SYSTEM AND LOUDNESS ADAPTATION - DIFFERENCES BETWEEN MUSICIANS AND NON-MUSICIANS

Simple loudness adaptation and crossed olivocochlear feedback were inv estigated-through the Tone Decay Test (TDT) and Transiently Evoked Oto acoustic Emission (TEOAE) recording, respectively-in a sample of norma l-hearing subjects including both musicians and non-musicians. The res ults for musicians and non-musicians differed statistically: the music ians showed on average less loudness adaptation and a greater reductio n in TEOAE amplitude under contralateral acoustic stimulation, suggest ing a stronger medial efferent feedback on the auditory periphery in t hese subjects. This finding, that not only psychoacoustic performance but also the physiological mechanism is different in musicians, strong ly suggests that the latter should, like the former, be influenced by auditory ''training'' such as music studies. This perspective is discu ssed in detail in the text, since it raises puzzling questions and out lined promising issues in the held of auditory psychophysiology. (C) 1 995 Academic Press, Inc.