The application of frequency and time domain kurtosis to the assessment of hazardous noise exposures

Five computer‐synthesized broadband noises, each having the same average spectrum and the same unweighted L_eq of 100 dB SPL but very different temporal structures, were used to produce hearing loss in chinchillas. Despite the same exposure energies and spectra, each noise exposure produced a different magnitude and frequency distribution of hearing loss and sensory cell loss. The results indicate that the statistical properties of a signal are important in the determination of hearing loss. When the audiometric and histological results are compared to a metric based upon kurtosis measured in the time and the frequency domain for each exposure, there is a clear indication that these statistical metrics are good predictors of the relative magnitude and frequency distribution of the acoustic trauma.