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Resolving front-back ambiguity with head rotation: The role of level dynamics
Henri Pöntynen1, Nelli H Salminen1
1Aalto Acoustics Lab, Department of Signal Processing and Acoustics, School of Electrical Engineering, Aalto University, FI-02150, Espoo, Finland.
Hearing Research
|April 14, 2019
Summary
Small head movements aid spatial hearing by resolving front-back sound confusions. Dynamic interaural level difference (ILD) can serve as a front-back cue, but its effectiveness depends on monotonic changes and movement range.
Area of Science:
- Auditory Neuroscience
- Acoustic Perception
- Spatial Hearing
Background:
- Head movements are crucial for resolving front-back sound localization ambiguities in free field.
- Interaural time difference (ITD) changes during head rotation offer a reliable front-back cue.
- The utility of dynamic interaural level difference (ILD) as a front-back cue remains unclear.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the effectiveness of dynamic ILD as a cue for front-back sound localization.
- To determine the conditions under which dynamic ILD can be utilized by human listeners.
Main Methods:
- Assessed human listeners' ability to discriminate front-back sound source locations using dynamic ILD.
- Compared performance in free field conditions with varying head movement ranges (±40°) against headphone simulations with smaller ranges (±5°).
- Investigated the role of monotonic changes in monaural sound level and ILD during head rotation.
Main Results:
- Listeners could use dynamic ILD for front-back localization of high-frequency sounds in free field, but required a wide movement range (±40°).
- In headphone simulations, listeners utilized dynamic ILD with smaller movement ranges (±5°) when level and ILD changes were monotonic.
- Monotonicity of level dynamics was key for effective ILD-based localization.
Conclusions:
- Human listeners can employ dynamic level changes as a front-back localization cue when these changes are monotonic.
- The acoustic properties of the dynamic ILD cue, specifically its monotonicity, are the primary limitation in free field and for narrowband signals.
- Auditory processing capabilities are not the main bottleneck; rather, the behavior of the acoustic cue itself limits its use.
Keywords:
Acoustic bright spotActive localizationBinaural cuesDirectional bandsFront-back ambiguityHead rotationMore Related Videos
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