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Measurements of binaural echo suppression
The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America
|December 1, 1979
Summary
Binaural echo suppression means reverberation is less noticeable with two ears. This study found lower echo detection thresholds binaurally, supporting this effect and suggesting central processing of spectral information.
Area of Science:
- Auditory Perception
- Psychoacoustics
- Signal Processing
Background:
- The concept of binaural echo suppression suggests reduced perception of reverberation when listening with two ears compared to one.
- Reverberation effects manifest as spectral modulations or coloration in sound.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the phenomenon of binaural echo suppression.
- To measure echo detection thresholds under different interaural delay and polarity conditions.
- To test a proposed model of central auditory processing for echo detection.
Main Methods:
- Measuring echo detection thresholds for a diotic noise masker with varying interaural delays (0 vs. 500 μsec).
- Comparing thresholds for same-polarity and interaurally reversed polarity echoes.
- Analyzing results in the context of binaural masking-level differences and central auditory processing.
Main Results:
- Echo detection thresholds were approximately 10 dB lower for diotic echoes compared to dichotic signals at short delays (< 5-10 msec).
- Thresholds increased by 10-15 dB for interaurally reversed polarity echoes versus same-polarity echoes.
- Findings are consistent with binaural echo suppression and a central processing model.
Conclusions:
- The study supports the notion of binaural echo suppression, where spectral modulations are less perceptible binaurally.
- Results suggest a central auditory processing model involving nonlinear compression of spectral magnitude and integrated monaural channel processing.
- Neither monaural channel can be isolated for echo detection, indicating central combination of information.