Using reaction time and equal latency contours to derive auditory weighting functions in sea lions and dolphins

Abstract

Subjective loudness measurements are used to create equal-loudness contours and auditory weighting functions for human noise-mitigation criteria; however, comparable direct measurements of subjective loudness with animal subjects are difficult to conduct. In this study, simple reaction time to pure tones was measured as a proxy for subjective loudness in a Tursiops truncatus and Zalophus californianus. Contours fit to equal reaction-time curves were then used to estimate the shapes of auditory weighting functions.