Which process could cause confusion during testing by misrepresenting thresholds?

Over masking occurs when the level of masking noise presented to the non-test ear is too intense, causing the test ear to be influenced by the masking noise. This can lead to inaccurate threshold measurements, as the individual may not be able to hear the test signal clearly due to the excessive noise. Essentially, over masking can cause the audiologist to misinterpret the patient's responses, suggesting that a poorer hearing ability exists in the test ear than is actually the case. This misrepresentation is particularly problematic in threshold testing, as it may lead to erroneous fitting of hearing devices or misdiagnosis of hearing loss.

In contrast, other processes such as under masking do not cause confusion in quite the same way; they may result in responses that are more unpredictable, but they typically do not create a situation where the test ear's true thresholds are misrepresented. Effective masking describes a situation where the masking noise is optimal for accurate testing, and bilateral masking generally refers to masking both ears but does not inherently misrepresent thresholds either.