LONG Zhang-Cai1,2, SHAO Feng3, ZHANG Yan-Ping4, QIN You-Guo2
1Department of Physics, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan 430074
2Acoustics Laboratory, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084
3Department of Opto-electronics Engineering and Communication, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan 430074
4Affiliated Hospital, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan 430074
Lower Hearing Threshold by Noise
LONG Zhang-Cai1,2;SHAO Feng3;ZHANG Yan-Ping4;QIN You-Guo2
1Department of Physics, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan 430074
2Acoustics Laboratory, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084
3Department of Opto-electronics Engineering and Communication, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan 430074
4Affiliated Hospital, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan 430074
Abstract： We demonstrate that noise can be a benefit factor that enables us to hear weaker signals. We measured the hearing thresholds of subjects for pure tone in different noise levels. The results show that pure tone thresholds with noise of some levels are lower than that without noise. The largest down-shift of the threshold by noise among the examined subjects is 5.7 dB, and the smallest is 1.7 dB.
2004, Vol. 21 
