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Loudness adaptation induced by an intermittent tone
The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America
|September 1, 1982
Summary
An intermittent sound in one ear significantly reduces loudness perception of a continuous sound in the other ear. This induced loudness adaptation is a robust auditory phenomenon.
Area of Science:
- Auditory perception
- Psychoacoustics
- Human hearing
Background:
- Loudness adaptation typically occurs with continuous sounds.
- Interactions between auditory stimuli in different ears are not fully understood.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the effect of an intermittent contralateral sound on the loudness of a continuous ipsilateral sound.
- To quantify induced loudness adaptation and explore its influencing factors.
Main Methods:
- Successive magnitude estimation was used to measure loudness.
- Experiments involved over 70 observers and tested various parameters of the contralateral tone.
- Interaural and cross-modality matching were employed for verification.
Main Results:
- An intermittent contralateral tone induced a 40-60% loudness reduction in a continuous ipsilateral tone within 2-3 minutes.
- This effect showed weak dependence on the intermittent tone's rate, frequency, and level.
- Loudness reduction was coupled with loudness enhancement in the contralateral ear.
Conclusions:
- Intermittent contralateral sounds strongly induce loudness adaptation, unlike continuous sounds.
- This phenomenon is linked to interaural interactions, likely involving lateralization and loudness funneling.
- The findings highlight complex interaural mechanisms in auditory perception.