Does static ear canal pressure influence pure tone pitch perception?

Abstract

ObjectiveThat static ear canal air pressure (ECP) influences the frequency of spontaneous otoacoustic emissions (SOAEs) suggests that it may influence intracochlear, in addition to middle ear, processes. A previous study suggested that ECP influences pure tone pitch perception at 1,000 Hz, which was interpreted as indicating an effect on the cochlear place-frequency map. The present study extended investigations of this effect to 500 and 4,000 Hz.Materials and MethodsNine normal-hearing listeners performed interaural pitch matching with monaural ECPs of 0 and -300 daPa.ResultsSome indications of a small downward pitch shift (mean 0.2%) at 500 Hz were observed, which were marginally statistically significant at the 5% level. No pitch shifts were observed at 4,000 Hz.ConclusionsECP does not influence pitch to the extent suggested previously or by SOAE frequency shifts. No evidence was found to support the notion that ECP influences the place-frequency map.