Auditory masking effects on lingual vibrotactile thresholds as a function of age

Abstract

Auditory masking effects on lingual vibrotactile thresholds were examined across three groups of ten subjects each. The first group consisted of children 13 years of age or younger, the second group consisted of young college age adults, and the third group consisted of elderly individuals 66 years of age or older. Lingual vibrotactile thresholds were obtained from each group at a frequency of 250 Hz, under experimental conditions consisting of no‐masking, narrow‐band masking, and wide‐band masking. Results showed statistically significant threshold differences between the elderly group and the other groups for all three experimental conditions. A difference was also detected between experimental conditions when an overall statistical analysis was performed, but this difference disappeared under more stringent post‐hoc examination. The elderly group's most sensitive thresholds occurred under the no‐masking condition, and masking had no noticeable effect on the lingual vibrotactile thresholds of the young adults and children. Obtained results are compatible with the current literature on aging and support the recommendation that auditory masking be eliminated from the lingual vibrotactile testing paradigm.