Recovery from adaptation in human compound action potential following forward masking

Recovery from adaptation was studied as changes in compound action potential (CAP) in response to clicks after broadband noise masking in volunteers with normal hearing. CAP was transtympanically elicited from the promontory using a needle electrode. Preceding masking noise and subsequent click stimuli were delivered separately from 2 loud speakers 80 cm from the tested ear. We evaluated the effect of masking noise duration and intensity on CAP recovery from adaptation as a function of delta t, defined as the interval between masking noise offset and click stimulus onset. Results were as follows: At delta t shorter than 200 ms or less, recovery from latency prolongation and amplitude decrease slowed with increasing masking noise duration and intensity. At delta t longer than 200 ms, no significant difference was seen in CAP recovery based on changes in masking noise duration or intensity. Recovery from adaptation, which depended on click intensity, took about 700 ms at a 40 dBnHL click and about 300 ms at a 60 dBnHL click. The influence of the middle ear muscle reflex on CAP recovery patterns is neglected when considering the intensity both masking noise and click stimulus. In CAP recovery, accumulated effects of the relative auditory-nerve refractory period may adversely affect recovery at very short delta t, while recovery from short-term adaptation, assumed involved in cochlear-hair cell synapse function, may be an important factor at delta t longer than 30-40 ms. Based on animal experiments showing different recovery times dependent on different auditory nerve spontaneous rates(SR), we concluded that at delta t of 200 ms or less, CAP recovery reflects high SR neuron activity, while at delta t longer than 200 ms, it mainly reflects that of low SR neurons.