Purpose: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effects of hearing loss and age on subjective ratings of emotional valence and arousal in response to nonspeech sounds. Method: Three groups of adults participated: 20 younger listeners with normal hearing (M = 24.8 years), 20 older listeners with normal hearing (M = 55.8 years), and 20 older…

Noise is a pervasive and influential source of stress. Whether through the acute effects of impulse noise or the chronic influence of prolonged exposure, the challenge of noise confronts many who must accomplish vital performance duties in its presence. Although noise has diffuse effects, which are shared in common with many other chronic forms of…

The parameters influencing the respiratory pattern at or near the threshold for hearing were studied in hearing impaired and normal hearing subjects. A semiautomatic system was designed to process the data. Results indicated that thresholds for pure tones could be estimated better on the inspiration phase of the breathing cycle and that duration…