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Hearing in large and small dogs: Absolute thresholds and size of the tympanic membrane

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Henry Heffner at University of Toledo
Henry Heffner
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Abstract

Comparative studies of hearing have shown that the ability of different species of mammals to hear high-frequency sounds is inversely related to the distance between their ears (i.e., functional interaural distance). In order to determine whether this relation applies to within-species as well as to between-species variation in interaural distance, the audiograms of 4 dogs ranking in size from a Chihuahua to a Saint Bernard were determined. Ss were taught to respond to the presence or absence of a tone. The ears of 15 dogs, including the largest and smallest in this study, were then dissected and measured. Results indicate that there is no significant relation between interaural distance and the high-frequency hearing ability of individual dogs. Further analysis, which included measurements of the tympanic membrane, indicated that neither interaural distance nor area of the tympanic membrane is related to variation in high-frequency hearing, low-frequency hearing, or absolute sensitivity among dogs. (37 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)
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... Moreover, behavioral methods have other advantages: comparative studies assessing the difference between physiological and behavioral measures of hearing sensitivity in humans reported higher and more variable responses across subjects when using ABR compared to behavioral methods [24]. In dogs, Markessis and colleagues [25] tried to compare electrophysiological thresholds with the behavioral thresholds obtained by Heffner [26], showing an important difference in the low-frequency threshold, with the behavioral threshold being twice as low as those obtained with the physiological assessment. Moreover, thresholds in the latter were slightly higher in all the other frequencies used. ...
... Moreover, thresholds in the latter were slightly higher in all the other frequencies used. Furthermore, in physiological studies in dogs, the inter-subject variability can be as high as 25 dB SPL [20], while computed data regarding the inter-subject variability from Heffner [26] found a standard deviation of 12 dB SPL at 0.5 kHz. In summary, behavioral assessment seems to grant a better accuracy and stability of thresholds in both humans and dogs. ...
... Despite these advantages, very little emphasis has been placed on devising behavioral methodologies to assess fundamental aspects of dogs' hearing. A handful of studies used a behavioral approach to study dogs' ability to localize sound [27][28][29], but, to the best of our knowledge, only Heffner [26] performed a study using a behavioral procedure to assess hearing threshold. The latter identified the hearing range of four dogs as ranging from 63 Hz to 47 kHz, determining the endpoints when sounds were only perceived if above 60 dB SPL. ...
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... Precisely, we aimed to identify sounds that may not be eligible for audiometric screening according to the three following characteristics: negative emotional impact, spectral narrowness, and spectral redundancy between sounds. The last two characteristics are very important in behavioral audiometric screening regarding the very large bandwidth of the canine audible field [41]. ...
... The green area shows the [250-4000 Hz] frequency region for which we observed a trend for negative emotional sensitivity to decrease as the sound center frequency/F0 increased. The grey area represents the sound frequencies that were tested in [41] but are above those of our 84-sound corpus (maximum F0 in the corpus = 9988 Hz; maximum center frequency of the 10 dB bandwidth = 11,122 Hz; maximum upper frequency of the 10 dB bandwidth = 17,033 Hz; see Table 1). Figure 3 presents the reports of negative emotional sensitivity as a function of the center frequency of the 10 dB bandwidth for the whole set of 84 sounds. ...
... Below, we attempted to assess whether the present results related to the shape of the canine minimum audible field, which determines how hearing varies over the full frequency range of hearing. In the sole behavioral study of the canine audible field that we are aware of, detection thresholds were measured in four conditioned dogs in an anechoic room [41]. A tone, whose frequency varied between 31 and 45,000 Hz across trials, was played back. ...
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We have investigated dogs’ (Canis familiaris) abilities in associating different sounds with appetitive stimuli of different incentive values. The association’s establishment was first tested on family dogs (n = 20) in a problem-solving behavioural paradigm (experiment 1), then in a problem-solving behavioural paradigm as well as an fMRI study on specially trained family dogs (n = 20) (experiment 2). The aim was to show behavioural and parallel neural effects of the association formed between the two sounds and two different associated appetitive stimuli. The latency of solving the problem was considered an indicator of the motivational state. In our first experiment, where only behaviour was studied, we found that dogs were quicker in solving a problem upon hearing the sound associated with food higher in reward value, suggesting that they have successfully associated the sounds with the corresponding food value. In our second experiment, this behaviour difference was not significant. In the fMRI study, the cerebral response to the two sounds was compared both before and after the associative training. Two bilateral regions of interest were explored: the caudate nucleus and the amygdala. After the associative training, the response in the caudate nucleus was higher to the sound related to a higher reward value food than to the sound related to a lower reward value food, which difference was not present before the associative training. We found an increase in the amygdala response to both sounds after the training. In a whole-brain representational similarity analysis, we found that cerebral patterns in the caudate nucleus to the two sounds were different only after the training. Moreover, we found a positive correlation between the dissimilarity index in the caudate nucleus for activation responses to the two sounds and the difference in latencies (i.e. high reward value associated sound condition latency—low reward value associated sound condition latency) to solve the behavioural task: the bigger the difference between the conditions in latency to solve the task, the greater the difference in the neural representation of the two sounds was. In summary, family dogs’ brain activation patterns reflected their expectations based on what they learned about the relationship between two sounds and their associated appetitive stimuli.
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Full-text available
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  • J Comp Physiol Psychol
Determined pure-tone absolute thresholds for 2 male owl monkeys using a tracking procedure. The owl monkey audibility curve obtained had best sensitivity at 8-10 kHz and +40-db sound pressure level (SPL) cutoffs at 125 Hz and 42 kHz. The high-frequency slope was very sharp, the +70-db SPL cutoff occurring at 46 kHz. A comparison of the nocturnal owl monkey with the closely related but diurnal squirrel monkey revealed that their audibility functions are remarkably similar. Comparison of audibility functions of nocturnal and diurnal primates suggests that there is no inevitable specialization of auditory sensitivity in nocturnal species.
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Pure-tone thresholds of the squirrel monkey (Saimiri sciureus)
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The audibility function of the squirrel monkey was measured with particular interest in determining the high‐frequency cutoff. The animals were trained to lick a tube to produce a tone burst. This response served to fix the animal&apos;s head in the sound field. A barpress within 3 sec of tone onset produced food and was counted as a detection. The squirrel monkey audibility function obtained had a low‐frequency slope of approximately 10 dB/octave, the typical notch at 4 kHz and maximum sensitivity in the 8–10‐kHz region. The high‐frequency side was complex, consisting of a decrease of sensitivity to 16 kHz, a flat portion from 16 to 32 kHz, and a sharp cutoff commencing between 32 and 40 kHz. The 70‐dB‐SPL point occurred at 46 kHz.
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Auditory Thresholds of a Fresh Water Dolphin, Inia geoffrensis Blainville
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A fresh water Amazon River dolphin, Inia geoffrensis, was conditioned to respond to pure tones by pushing a response lever. By using this method an audiogram was obtained for frequencies between 1.0 and 105 kHz. The animal was most sensitive to tones between 75 and 90 kHz. The sensitivity threshold in this area was −50 dB re 1 dyn/cm2. The effective upper limit of hearing was 105 kHz. No reliable response was elicited above 105 kHz using a random presentation and undistorted signal.
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Auditory Thresholds of a Killer Whale Orcinus orca Linnaeus
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Using standard operant conditioning techniques, a killer whale, Orcinus orca Linnaeus, was trained to respond to pure‐tone auditory signals by pushing a response manipulandum. An audiogram was obtained for frequencies between 500 Hz and 31 kHz. Greatest sensitivity to the signal was observed at 15 kHz at a level of −70±5 dB re 1 dyn/cm2. The observed upper limit of hearing was 32 kHz. At no time during training or testing did the animal respond to an undistorted signal above 32 kHz. Frequencies below 500 Hz were not tested, owing to high ambient tank noise levels.
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Auditory sensitivity and equal loudness in the squirrel monkey (Saimiri sciureus)
Article
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  • J EXP ANAL BEHAV
The effects of the type of reinforcer on auditory sensitivity and equal-loudness data were determined in the squirrel monkey. The monkeys, restrained and provided with earphones, were conditioned to depress and hold a bar down in the presence of a stimulus light and then to terminate the holding response after onset of a tone. In Experiment 1, the specified behavior sequence postponed electric shock; in Experiment 2, a food reinforcer was dependent on bar release during the tone. The shape of the auditory sensitivity function and the acuity level at each frequency were the same for the two procedures. The audible frequency range extended from below 0.125 kHz (lowest frequency used) to 46 kHz. Sensitivity was maximum at 8 kHz. Latency of bar release following tone onset served as the basic data for constructing a family of equal-loudness contours. The type of reinforcer appeared not to be a determinant of either the shape of individual loudness contours or the pattern of family of equal-loudness functions. At the lower sound-pressure levels, the equal-loudness contours closely paralleled the threshold curves. At more-intense levels, the contours tended to flatten and depend less on frequency.
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Hearing sensitivity of the Mongolian gerbil, Meriones unguiculatus
Article
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Mongolian gerbils were trained to respond to pure tones in a shock-avoidance task. The animals proved to be readily trainable and behaviorally stable. Thresholds were obtained by a method of limits and, in the case of one animal, by generating psychrometric functions. The gerbil responds to frequencies between 0.1 and 60.0 kHz. For pure tones between 1.0 and 16.0 kHz, the threshold of hearing averages 4.6 dB SPL. Between 1.0 and 0.1 kHz, sensitivity declines at a rate of 12 dB/octave. Between 16.0 and 40.0 kHz, threshold increases at a rate of 13 dB/octave, and above 40.0 kHz at a rate of 66 dB/octave. Thresholds derived from psychometric functions were essentially identical to those obtained by the method of limits. Hearing in this species is consistent with its size and anatomical characteristics. Subject Classification: [43]80.50; [43]65.50.
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Underwater hearing sensitivity of two ring seals (Pusa hispida)
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Minimum audible field, underwater audiograms from 1 to 90 kHz were obtained for two ringed seals (Pusa hispida). The audiograms exhibited a uniform sensitivity, to within ± 7 dB, in the frequency range 1 to 45 kHz. Above 45 kHz the threshold increased at a rate of 60 dB per octave. The lowest threshold was −32 dB relative to 1 μbar (68 dB re 1 μPa) at 16 kHz. The audiograms were similar to those of other phocid seals so far studied.
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Auditory systems of Heteromyidae: Functional morphology and evolution of the middle ear
Article
  • Jul 1975
Middle ears (515) from 26 species of the rodent family Heteromyidae — genera Dipodomys, Microdipodops, Perognathus, and Liomys —were studied both grossly and histologically, for qualitative and quantitative comparisons. Middle ear modifications characteristic of each genus are qualitatively described. Quantitative comparisons are made among the 26 species in the study. Some correlations between middle ear size and other measurements are discussed. The middle ear is an acoustical transformer that for best efficiency must match the impedance of the cochlea to the impedance of the air in the external auditory meatus. It accomplishes this by a pressure increase and a velocity decrease through the combined effects of the lever and areal ratios; however, because the important consideration is a matching of two impedances rather than an absolute pressure increase, the pressure transformer ratio is a less informative measure of the middle ear's efficiency than is the impedance transform ratio. The impedance transformer mechanism is explained (from a morphological point of view), and equations are presented. Dipodomys, Microdipodops, and Perognathus have a theoretical transmission (at the resonant frequency) of 94–100% of the incident acoustical energy; Liomys, 78–80%. The areal ratio of stapes footplate to 2/3 tympanic membrane is remarkably constant among the species, varying only from 0.04 to 0.07: in Dipodomys and Microdipodops this small ratio is due to the very large tympanic membrane; in Perognathus and Liomys it is due to the extremely small stapes footplate. The lever ratio of incus to malleus varies from 0.28 to 0.33 in Dipodomys and Microdipodops, from 0.37 to 0.46 in Perognathus, and from 0.55 to 0.60 in Liomys. In addition, the middle ear volumes and the morphology of tympanic membrane, ossicles, ligaments, and muscles, all combine to minimize both mass and stiffness. All these data suggest middle ear mechanisms which are very efficient over a broad frequency range. The middle ear modifications found in heteromyids are adaptive in predator avoidance, especially in areas of little natural cover; nevertheless, contrary to expectations, there is no firm relationship between habitat and the extent of these modifications in the 26 species. However, environment did apparently play an important role in the evolution of the family, and this is discussed.
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The harp seal, Pagophilus groenlandicus (Erxleben, 1777). III. The underwater audiogram
Article
A free-field underwater audiogram from 0.76 to 100 kHz was obtained for Pagophilus groenlandicus. Areas of increased sensitivity occurred at 2 and 22.9 kHz. The lowest threshold was −32.9 db/μbar at 15.0 kHz. Above 64 kHz the threshold increases at a rate of 40 db/octave. The audiogram was similar to that of the Phoca vitulina. The effects of ambient noise on the audiogram are discussed.
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