Psychoacoustics

Psychoacoustics: Perception of Normal and Impaired Hearing with Audiology Applications, Second Edition provides an overview of the field of psychoacoustics, with a primary focus on auditory perception. The book retains its focus on applications of psychoacoustics to clinical audiology, and its modular organization, with each chapter including relevant information around a specific topic. Within each chapter, acoustics, physiology, and perception by adult listeners with normal hearing and those with hearing loss, as they relate to that topic, are presented.

The influence of hearing loss on these general auditory abilities is discussed in every chapter. Components of the book also include the role of psychoacoustics in audiological assessment and treatment. The text is ideal for audiology students who intend on having a clinical career and need an understanding of both normal and impaired auditory perception. It is intended to give students sufficient information to understand how the ear achieves auditory perception, what the capabilities of the ear are, and how hearing loss influences that perception. It also provides students with a foundation for further study in the area and to apply psychoacoustic principles to diagnostic audiology and audiological rehabilitation.

New to the Second Edition

• 70 new figures to clarify some points and facilitate student's understanding of the material
• New chapter that exclusively focuses on the perception by individuals wearing hearing aids and cochlear implants
• New section on the perceptual consequences of sensorineural hearing loss on everyday listening added to each chapter
• Revamped chapter on Psychoacoustics and Advanced Clinical Auditory Assessment now exclusively addresses elements within diagnostic audiology that are based on psychoacoustics, with added content on tinnitus assessment, automated (Béeacute;késy) audiometry, retrocochlear and pseudohypacusis evaluation, and the identification of dead regions
• Enhanced focus on inclusivity such as alternative versions of some demonstrations designed to be more accessible to individuals with hearing loss and a new section on the contributions of women and BIPOC scientists to the field of psychoacoustics
• Additional demonstrations, general exercises, and laboratory exercises in the text and on website

Key Features

• Learning objectives and summaries begin and end each chapter to convey the goals of the text and review student comprehension
• Each chapter contains exercises designed to develop critical thinking about psychoacoustics
• Chapters include the following: introduction, relevant acoustics, important physiological studies, perception by normal-hearing listeners, and perception by listeners who have sensorineural hearing loss
• Emphasis on applied learning for more effective and efficient learning of the material

PluralPlus Online Ancillaries

For instructors: PowerPoint slides and answers to lab exercises

For students: Lab exercises and demonstrations so that students may develop their understanding of psychoacoustic topics