Evidence of Hyperacusis in Canaries with Permanent Hereditary High-Frequency Hearing Loss

ABSTRACT

The mechanisms that underlie hyperacusis are poorly understood, due in part to the lack of a behavioral animal model. Traditional self-report methods used to measure loudness and loudness discomfort are not suitable for use with animals because the animals cannot provide subjective responses about the magnitude of an internal psychological perception. Instead, reaction time (RT) measures have been used in animals to estimate loudness perception. In the present study, the authors demonstrate that RTs are shorter at moderate and high sound levels in canaries of a strain with a hereditary high-frequency hearing loss than in normal canaries, indicating increased loudness. As far as we know, this is the first report of hyperacusis in a nonhuman animal and demonstrates that RT is a potentially useful measure in animal models of hyperacusis.

KEYWORDS

Hyperacusis - loudness discomfort - reaction time - canary - hearing loss

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