Harbor porpoises may suffer hearing loss when exposed to intense sounds. After exposure to a 1.5 kHz continuous tone without harmonics at a mean received sound pressure level of 154 dB re 1 μPa for 60 min (cumulative sound exposure level: 190 dB re 1 μPa2 s), the temporary hearing threshold shift (TTS) of a porpoise was quantified at 1.5, 2, 4, 6.5, 8, 16, 32, 63, and 125 kHz with a psychoacoustic technique. Significant TTS only occurred at 1.5 and 2 kHz. Mean TTS (1–4 min after sound exposure stopped) was ∼14 dB at 1.5 kHz and ∼11 dB at 2 kHz, and recovery occurred within 96 min. Control hearing tests before and after a 60 min low ambient noise exposure showed that normal variation in TTS was limited (standard deviation: ±1.0 dB). Ecological effects of TTS depend not only on the magnitude of the TTS, its duration (depending on the exposure duration), and the recovery time after the exposure stopped, but also on the hearing frequency affected by the fatiguing noise. The hearing thresholds of harbor porpoises for the frequencies of their echolocation signals are not affected by intense low frequency sounds, therefore these sounds are unlikely to affect foraging efficiency.
REFERENCES
1.
Carder
, H. M.
, and Miller
, J. D.
(1972
). “Temporary threshold shifts from prolonged exposure to noise
,” J. Speech Hear. Res.
15
, 603
–623
.2.
Cornsweet
, T. N.
(1962
). “The staircase method in psychophysics
,” J. Acoust. Soc. Am.
75
, 485
–491
.3.
Finneran
, J. J.
, Carder
, D. A.
, Schlundt
, C. E.
, and Ridgway
, S. H.
(2005
). “Temporary threshold shift in bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus) exposed to mid-frequency tones
,” J. Acoust. Soc. Am.
116
, 2696
–2705
.5.
Finneran
, J. J.
, and Schlundt
, C. E.
(2010
). “Frequency-dependent and longitudinal changes in noise-inducted hearing loss in a bottlenose dolphin (Tursiops truncatus)
,” J. Acoust. Soc. Am.
128
, 567
–570
.6.
Kamminga
, C.
, and Wiersma
, H.
(1981
). “Investigations of Cetacean sonar II. Acoustical similarities and differences in odontocete sonar signals
,” Aquat. Mamm.
8
, 41
–62
.7.
Kastak
, D.
, Southall
, B. L.
, Schusterman
, R. J.
, and Reichmuth Kastak
, C.
(2005
). “Underwater temporary threshold shift in pinnipeds: Effects of noise level and duration
,” J. Acoust. Soc. Am.
118
, 354
–3163
.8.
Kastelein
, R. A.
, Bunskoek
, P.
, Hagedoorn
, M.
, Au
, W. W. L.
, and de Haan
, D.
(2002
). “Audiogram of a harbor porpoise (Phocoena phocoena) measured with narrow-band frequency-modulated signals
,” J. Acoust. Soc. Am.
112
, 334
–344
.11.
Kastelein
, R. A.
, Gransier
, R.
, Hoek
, L.
, Macleod
, A.
, and Terhune
, J. M.
(2012a
). “Hearing threshold shifts and recovery in harbor seals (Phoca vitulina) after octave-band noise exposure at 4 kHz
,” J. Acoust. Soc. Am.
132
, 2745
–2761
.12.
Kastelein
, R. A.
, Gransier
, R.
, Hoek
, L.
, and Olthuis
, J.
(2012b
). “Temporary threshold shifts and recovery in a harbor porpoise (Phocoena phocoena) after octave-band noise at 4 kHz
,” J. Acoust. Soc. Am.
132
, 3525
–3537
.10.
Kastelein
, R. A.
, Hoek
, L.
, and de Jong
, C. A. F.
(2011
). “Hearing thresholds of a harbor porpoise (Phocoena phocoena) for sweeps (1–2 kHz and 6–7 kHz bands) mimicking naval sonar signals
,” J. Acoust. Soc. Am.
129
, 3393
–3399
.9.
Kastelein
, R. A.
, Hoek
, L.
, de Jong
, C. A. F.
, and Wensveen
, P. J.
(2010
). “The effect of signal duration on the underwater detection thresholds of a harbor porpoise (Phocoena phocoena) for single frequency-modulated tonal signals between 0.25 and 160 kHz
,” J. Acoust. Soc. Am.
128
, 3211
–3222
.13.
Kastelein
, R. A.
, Steen
, N.
, Gransier
, R.
, Wensveen
, P. J.
, and de Jong
, C. A. F.
(2012c
). “Threshold received SPLs of single 1–2 kHz and 6–7 kHz up-sweeps and down-sweeps causing startle responses in a harbor porpoise (Phocoena phocoena)
,” J. Acoust. Soc. Am.
131
, 2325
–2333
.13.
Kastelein R.
, A.
, Wensveen P.
, J.
, Hoek
, L.
, Au W.
, W. L.
, Terhune J.
, M.
, and de Jong C.
, A. F.
(2009
). “Critical ratios in harbor porpoises (Phocoena phocoena) for tonal signals between 0.315 and 150 kHz in random Gaussian white noise
,” J. Acoust. Soc. Am.
126
, 1588
–1597
.13.
Levitt
, H.
(1971
). “Transformed up-down methods in psychoacoustics
,” J. Acoust. Soc. Am.
49
, 467
–477
.15.
MacLeod
, R.
, MacLeod
, C. D.
, Learmonth
, J. A.
, Jepson
, P. D.
, Reid
, R. J.
, Deaville
, R.
, and Pierce
, G. J.
(2007
). “Mass-dependent predation risk and lethal dolphin–porpoise interactions
,” Proc. R. Soc. London, Ser. B
274
, 2587
–2593
.14.
Madsen
, P. T.
(2005
). “Marine mammals and noise: Problems with root mean square sound pressure levels for transients
,” J. Acoust. Soc. Am.
117
, 3952
–3957
.16.
Melnick
, W.
(1991
). “Human temporary threshold shifts (TTS) and damage risk
,” J. Acoust. Soc. Am.
90
, 147
–154
.17.
Mills
, J. H.
, Gilbert
, R. M.
, and Adkins
, W. Y.
(1979
). “Temporary threshold shift in humans exposed to octave bands of noise for 16 to 24 hours
,” J. Acoust. Soc. Am.
65
, 1238
–1248
.18.
Møhl
, B.
, and Andersen
, S.
(1973
). “Echolocation: High-frequency component in the click of the harbour porpoise (Phocoena ph. L.)
,” J. Acoust. Soc. Am.
53
, 1368
–1372
.19.
Mooney
, T. A.
, Nachtigall
, P. E.
, Breese
, M.
, Vlachos
, M.
, and Au
, W. W. L.
(2009
). “Predicting temporary threshold shift in a bottlenose dolphin (Tursiops truncatus)
,” J. Acoust. Soc. Am.
113
, 3425
–3429
.20.
Nachtigall
, P. E.
, Supin
, A. Ya
, Pawloski
, J.
, and Au
, W. W. L.
(2004
). “Temporary threshold shifts after noise exposure in the bottlenose dolphin (Tursiops truncatus) measured using evoked auditory potentials
,” Marine Mammal Sci.
20
, 673
–687
.21.
Popov
, V. V.
, Supin
, A. Ya.
, Wang
, D.
, Wang
, K.
, Dong
, L.
, and Wang
, S.
(2011
). “Noise-induced temporary threshold shift and recovery in Yangtze finless porpoise Neophocaena phocaenoides asiaeorientalis
,” J. Acoust. Soc. Am.
130
, 574
–584
.24.
Robinson D.
, E.
, and Watson C.
, S.
(1973
). “Psychophysical methods in modern Psychoacoustics
,” in Foundations of Modern Auditory Theory
, edited by J. V.
Tobias
(Academic
, New York
), Vol. 2
, pp. 99
–131
.22.
Southall
, B. L.
, Bowles
, A. E.
, Ellison
, W. T.
, Finneran
, J. J.
, Gentry
, R. L.
, Greene
, C. R.
, Jr., Kastak
, D.
, Ketten
, D. R.
, Miller
, J. H.
, Nachtigall
, P. E.
, Richardson
, W. J.
, Thomas
, J. A.
, and Tyack
, P. L.
(2007
). “Marine mammal noise exposure criteria: Initial scientific recommendations
,” Aquat. Mamm.
33
, 411
–521
.23.
Vater
, M.
, and Kössl
, M.
(2011
). “Comparative aspects of cochlear functional organization in mammals
,” Hear. Res.
273
, 89
–99
.24.
Verboom
, W. C.
, and Kastelein
, R. A.
(2003
). “Structure of harbour porpoise (Phocoena phocoena) acoustic signals with high repetition rates
,” in Echolocation in Bats and Dolphins
, edited by J. A.
Thomas
, C.
Moss
, and M.
Vater
(University of Chicago Press
, Chicago
), pp. 40
–43
.25.
Yost
, W. A.
(2007
). Fundamentals of Hearing: An Introduction
(Academic
, New York
) p. 326
.25.
© 2013 Acoustical Society of America.
2013
Acoustical Society of America
You do not currently have access to this content.