Effects of various acoustic stimuli on higher order thinking and tinnitus perceptions

Abstract

Masking sounds are often employed in the management of subjective tinnitus to desensitize and divert attention. The potential side effects of these maskers in distraction from other thought processes is not well understood. This research addresses the effects an artificial tinnitus and broadband masking or distracting stimuli have on performance of challenging cognitive or attention tasks. Masking sound preferences were also assessed. Adults with normal hearing and without thought processing disorders performed a two-back (n-back) auditory memory task in listening conditions including silence, white noise, classical music, pop music, and an artificial tinnitus condition. Participants also completed a survey, rating perceptions of their performance and attentional preferences for the sounds. Data show a greater distraction effect for more complex stimuli (pop music). Natural environmental sounds or white noise are favored to pop music for tinnitus masking. It is suggested that tinnitus maskers with more co...