Evoked-response forward-masking functions in chinchillas with noise-induced permanent hearing loss.

Evoked-response forward-masking functions were measured by chronic electrodes in the inferior colliculus of the chinchilla before and after exposure to an intense tone that produced a permanent hearing loss. Before exposure, the forward-masking time constants ranged from 50 to 90 ms. After exposure, the forward-masking time constants increased significantly in the region of hearing loss, but not in regions where hearing was normal. The effect of the hearing loss on the time course of forward masking was most pronounced once the hearing loss exceeded 20-25 dB. These physiological changes in the evoked-response forward-masking functions appear to parallel those observed psychophysically in human listeners.