Frequency acuity and binaural masking release in dyslexic listeners

Two experiments compared auditory sensitivity in a group of 12 adult dyslex ics and matched control listeners, The first experiment measured frequency discrimination and frequency modulation detection thresholds at both 1 and 6 kHz. Although thresholds were larger for the dyslexic group, the differen ces were not statistically reliable. The second experiment measured the bin aural masking level difference for a 200 Hz pure tone in noise. Thresholds did not differ significantly between the two groups. The data provide littl e support for the hypothesis that dyslexic listeners are impaired in their ability to process information in the temporal fine structure of auditory s timuli. (C) 1999 Acoustical Society of America.