Trehub S E, Schneider B A, Morrongiello B A, Thorpe L A
Department of Psychology, University of Toronto, Mississauga, Ont., Canada.
Audiology. 1989;28(5):241-9. doi: 10.3109/00206098909081629.
Sensitivity to 1/3-octave-band noises with centre frequencies of 10, 20, and 25 kHz was measured for 200 children between 1.5 and 16 years of age and for 20 young adults. In the case of the 25-kHz signal, listeners of 1.5 and 3 years of age as well as those 16 and 20 years of age were unable to detect it at its highest intensity (57 dB). In contrast, listeners 5-14 years of age could detect the 25-kHz signal. Sensitivity to the 20-kHz signal improved until about 8 years of age, deteriorating gradually thereafter. Finally, sensitivity to the 10-kHz signal improved rapidly, reaching young adult levels by 5 years of age, and remaining stable until 20 years of age. These findings are consistent with the onset of high-frequency hearing losses at around 10 years of age. Whether such hearing losses are due to normal aging (presbyacusis) or to noise exposure (socioacusis) remains to be determined.
对200名年龄在1.5至16岁之间的儿童以及20名年轻成年人测量了对中心频率为10、20和25千赫的1/3倍频程带噪声的敏感度。对于25千赫的信号，1.5岁和3岁的听众以及16岁和20岁的听众在其最高强度（57分贝）时无法检测到。相比之下，5至14岁的听众能够检测到25千赫的信号。对20千赫信号的敏感度在8岁左右之前有所提高，此后逐渐下降。最后，对10千赫信号的敏感度迅速提高，到5岁时达到年轻成年人的水平，并一直稳定到20岁。这些发现与大约10岁时高频听力损失的开始是一致的。这种听力损失是由于正常衰老（老年性耳聋）还是由于噪声暴露（社会噪声性听力损失）仍有待确定。
