Békésy Tracings in Normal Listeners Following Contralateral Masking

Abstract

Békésy fixed-frequency tracings for continuous tones were studied in normal listeners before and after masking the contralateral ear with wide-band noise of low and moderate intensity. In many cases, the effect of contralateral masking persists beyond the masking period, and in some cases the effect is even more pronounced after the exposure to noise than during the exposure, excessive threshold drifts being observed. A weak masking of one ear is quite regularly followed by tinnitus in the opposite ear and in this ear exclusively.