Spectral interference in a binaural detection task

Several investigations suggest that sensitivity to changes in interaural disparities within select spectral regions may be degraded by the presence of energy at other, even remote, spectral regions. This study assessed whether similar degradations would be observed in an MLD paradigm. Detection thresholds were measured for NoSo and NoS pi. The signal, an 800-Hz tone (100-ms), was presented in continuous, broadband noise. Thresholds were also measured in the presence of a 400-Hz tone (the interferer) presented with an interaural phase disparity of 180 degrees and gated simultaneously with the signal or presented continuously. NoS pi thresholds increased by about 7 dB with the gated interferer at 80 dB SPL. Smaller increases were observed with lower levels of the interferer. Presenting the interferer continuously reduced substantially its effect. NoSo thresholds were affected only slightly by the interferer. Reversing the roles of the signal and interferer (400-Hz signal, 800-Hz interferer) led to smaller, but reliable degradations in performance. Diotic interferers had, in general, smaller effects on performance. The possible relation between the mechanisms that produce interference and those that foster an ability to segregate sources of sound is discussed.     

Gap detection and the auditory filter: phase effects using sinusoidal stimuli

Psychometric functions were determined for the detection of temporal gaps in sinusoidal signals at center frequencies between 0.2 and 2.0 kHz. A continuous notched-noise masker was used to restrict listening to the signal frequency region. The gap always started when the signal was at a positive-going zero crossing. There were three different conditions for the starting phase of the signal at the termination of the gap. In the standard-phase condition the signal restarted at a positive-going zero crossing, in the reversed-phase condition at a negative-going zero crossing, and in the preserved-phase condition at the phase the signal would have had if the gap had not been present. In the standard-phase and reversed-phase conditions the psychometric functions were nonmonotonic, showing oscillations with a period equal to that of the signal; maxima in the functions for the standard-phase condition coincided with minima in the functions for the reversed-phase condition, and vice versa. In the preserved-phase condition the psychometric functions were monotonic and the 75% points were roughly independent of center frequency, having a value of about 5 ms. The general form of the results can be modeled by a filter bank followed by a square-law device and a temporal integrator, but good agreement between the data and the model could not be attained across the whole range of gap durations. The deviations between data and model suggest that subjects are sensitive to the brief transitions in phase (or, equivalently, in frequency) in some conditions.     

The enhancement effect: evidence for adaptation of inhibition using a binaural centering task

The enhancement effect is consistently shown when simultaneously masked stimuli are preceded by the masker alone, with a reduction in the amount of masking relative to when that precursor is absent. One explanation for this effect proposed by Viemeister and Bacon [(1982). J. Acoust. Soc. Am. 71, 1502-1507] is the adaptation of inhibition, which predicts that an enhanced component (the "target") will be effectively more intense within the auditory system than one that has not been enhanced. Forward masking studies have indicated this effect of increased gain; however, other explanations of the enhancement effect have also been suggested. In order to provide an alternative measure of the amount of effective gain for an enhanced target, a subjective binaural centering task was used in which listeners matched the intensities of enhanced and unenhanced 2-kHz tones presented to opposite ears to produce a centered stimulus. The results showed that the enhancement effect produces an effective 4-5 dB increase in the level of the enhanced target. The enhancement effect was also measured using other enhancement paradigms which yielded similar results over a range of levels for the target, supporting an account based on adaptation of inhibition.     

Ambisonics声捡拾与重放音色的双耳听觉模型分析与实验

提出用双耳听觉模型对空间声音色进行分析的普遍方法,并以Ambisonics为例进行了分析。Ambisonics是基于物理声场重构的空间声系统,其最终重构声场误差以及音色改变是由传声器捡拾和重放空间混叠误差共同引起的。采用修正的Moore双耳响度模型计算了Ambisonics重构声场的双耳响度级谱并和目标声场的情况比较,从而定量评价重构声场的音色改变。结果表明,在理想捡拾信号的情况下,无音色改变重放的上限频率和区域大小随Ambisonics的阶数而增加。而对于传声器阵列捡拾的情况,只要阵列的上限频率大于Ambisonics重放的上限频率,在重放的上限频率以下,传声器阵列空间混叠误差对最终重构声场及其感知音色的影响就可以忽略。在此基础上,提出了一种综合考虑捡拾与重放性能的Ambisonics系统优化设计方法。心理声学实验得到了和双耳听觉模型一致的结果,从而也验证了模型分析的有效性。     

Ambisonics声捡拾与重放音色的双耳听觉模型分析与实验

提出用双耳听觉模型对空间声音色进行分析的普遍方法,并以Ambisonics为例进行了分析。Ambisonics是基于物理声场重构的空间声系统,其最终重构声场误差以及音色改变是由传声器捡拾和重放空间混叠误差共同引起的。采用修正的Moore双耳响度模型计算了Ambisonics重构声场的双耳响度级谱并和目标声场的情况比较,从而定量评价重构声场的音色改变。结果表明,在理想捡拾信号的情况下,无音色改变重放的上限频率和区域大小随Ambisonics的阶数而增加。而对于传声器阵列捡拾的情况,只要阵列的上限频率大于Ambisonics重放的上限频率,在重放的上限频率以下,传声器阵列空间混叠误差对最终重构声场及其感知音色的影响就可以忽略。在此基础上,提出了一种综合考虑捡拾与重放性能的Ambisonics系统优化设计方法。心理声学实验得到了和双耳听觉模型一致的结果,从而也验证了模型分析的有效性。     

Monaural and binaural auditory frequency resolution measured using bandlimited noise and notched-noise masking

Several studies using bandlimited masking noise have indicated that NOSO frequency resolution is better than that for NOS pi. The present study examined NOSO and NOS pi frequency resolution with two different masking methods: bandlimited noise and notched noise. Noise spectrum levels of 10, 30, and 50 dB/Hz were used. Thresholds were determined for a 500-Hz signal, using a three-alternative forced-choice adaptive procedure, as a function of masker bandwidth and notchwidth. For NOSO presentation, 3-dB down points were comparable for the notched-noise and bandlimiting methods. For NOS pi presentation, 3-dB down points were generally greater for the bandlimiting method than the notched noise method. Furthermore, for NOS pi presentation, the 3-dB down estimate increased as noise level increased for the bandlimiting method, but stayed constant for the notched-noise method. It is suggested that the two masking methods measured different aspects of binaural processing.     

Consequences of conductive auditory impairment for binaural hearing

Studies of persons with conductive hearing loss have revealed substantial degradations in binaural hearing abilities. Described here is a model based on the hypothesis that this degradation is due to high levels of bone-conducted signals relative to air-conducted signals. The model makes quantitative predictions for the effects of conductive impairment on measurements of interaural discrimination. Qualitative predictions for binaural advantages in detection and speech intelligibility are also made by employing auxiliary models. Generally, available data are consistent with the models, although strong tests have not yet been performed.     

Relating binaural pitch perception to the individual listener's auditory profile

The ability of eight normal-hearing listeners and fourteen listeners with sensorineural hearing loss to detect and identify pitch contours was measured for binaural-pitch stimuli and salience-matched monaurally detectable pitches. In an effort to determine whether impaired binaural pitch perception was linked to a specific deficit, the auditory profiles of the individual listeners were characterized using measures of loudness perception, cognitive ability, binaural processing, temporal fine structure processing, and frequency selectivity, in addition to common audiometric measures. Two of the listeners were found not to perceive binaural pitch at all, despite a clear detection of monaural pitch. While both binaural and monaural pitches were detectable by all other listeners, identification scores were significantly lower for binaural than for monaural pitch. A total absence of binaural pitch sensation coexisted with a loss of a binaural signal-detection advantage in noise, without implying reduced cognitive function. Auditory filter bandwidths did not correlate with the difference in pitch identification scores between binaural and monaural pitches. However, subjects with impaired binaural pitch perception showed deficits in temporal fine structure processing. Whether the observed deficits stemmed from peripheral or central mechanisms could not be resolved here, but the present findings may be useful for hearing loss characterization.     

Multichannel speech intelligibility and talker recognition using monaural, binaural, and three-dimensional auditory presentation

In a 3D auditory display, sounds are presented over headphones in a way that they seem to originate from virtual sources in a space around the listener. This paper describes a study on the possible merits of such a display for bandlimited speech with respect to intelligibility and talker recognition against a background of competing voices. Different conditions were investigated: speech material (words/sentences), presentation mode (monaural/binaural/3D), number of competing talkers (1-4), and virtual position of the talkers (in 45 degrees-steps around the front horizontal plane). Average results for 12 listeners show an increase of speech intelligibility for 3D presentation for two or more competing talkers compared to conventional binaural presentation. The ability to recognize a talker is slightly better and the time required for recognition is significantly shorter for 3D presentation in the presence of two or three competing talkers. Although absolute localization of a talker is rather poor, spatial separation appears to have a significant effect on communication. For either speech intelligibility, talker recognition, or localization, no difference is found between the use of an individualized 3D auditory display and a general display.     

Stereophonic channel decorrelation using a binaural masking model

Traditional methods often only use monaural masking models to decorrelate input signals for stereo acoustic echo cancellation. Whereas, it seems more reasonable to use binaural masking models for the following two reasons. First, stereo signals are heard by two ears rather than just one. Second, psychoacoustic researchers have already shown that there are obvious masking level differences between binaural masking models and monaural masking models. By studying binaural masking level difference models, we first introduce a simplified binaural masking model for stereo acoustic echo cancellation. Considering that the interaural time difference is dominant at low frequencies (?$?$1.5  kHz) and the interaural level difference is a major cue at higher frequencies, we propose to use different signal decorrelation schemes at these two frequency bands. In the low-frequency band, a pitch-driven sinusoidal injection scheme is proposed to maintain the interaural time difference, where the amount of injection is determined by the proposed binaural masking model. In the high-frequency band, a modified sinusoidal phase modulation scheme is applied to make a trade-off between preserving the interaural level difference and decorrelating the stereophonic input signals. Assessment results show that the proposed method can effectively improve the non-unique problem and retain good speech quality.     

A binaural analog of gap detection.

The temporal resolution of the binaural auditory system was measured using a binaural analog of gap detection. A binaural "gap" was defined as a burst of interaurally uncorrelated noise (Nu) placed between two bursts of interaurally correlated noise (N0). The Nu burst creates a dip in the output of a binaural temporal window integrating interaural correlation, analogous to the dip created by a silent gap in the output of a monaural temporal window integrating intensity. The equivalent rectangular duration (ERD) of the binaural window was used as an index of binaural temporal resolution. In order to derive the ERD, both the shortest-detectable binaural gap and the jnd for a reduction in interaural correlation from unity were measured. In experiment 1, binaural-gap thresholds were measured using narrow-band noise carriers as a function of center frequency from 250 to 2000 Hz (fixed 100-Hz bandwidth) and a function of lower-cutoff frequency from 100 to 400 Hz (fixed 500-Hz upper-cutoff frequency). Binaural-gap thresholds (1) increased significantly with increasing frequency in both tasks, and (2) at frequencies below 500 Hz, were shorter than corresponding silent-gap thresholds measured with the same N0 noises. In experiment 2, interaural-correlation jnd's were measured for the same conditions. The jnd's also increased significantly with increasing frequency. The results were analyzed using a temporal window integrating the output of a computational model of binaural processing. The ERD of the window varied widely across listeners, with a mean value of 140 ms, and did not significantly depend on frequency. This duration is about an order of magnitude longer than the ERD of the monaural temporal window and is, therefore, consistent with "binaural sluggishness."     

Perceptual learning and generalization resulting from training on an auditory amplitude-modulation detection task

Fluctuations in sound amplitude provide important cues to the identity of many sounds including speech. Of interest here was whether the ability to detect these fluctuations can be improved with practice, and if so whether this learning generalizes to untrained cases. To address these issues, normal-hearing adults (n = 9) were trained to detect sinusoidal amplitude modulation (SAM; 80-Hz rate, 3-4 kHz bandpass carrier) 720 trials/day for 6-7 days and were tested before and after training on related SAM-detection and SAM-rate-discrimination conditions. Controls (n = 9) only participated in the pre- and post-tests. The trained listeners improved more than the controls on the trained condition between the pre- and post-tests, but different subgroups of trained listeners required different amounts of practice to reach asymptotic performance, ranging from 1 (n = 6) to 4-6 (n = 3) sessions. This training-induced learning did not generalize to detection with two untrained carrier spectra (5 kHz low-pass and 0.5-1.5 kHz bandpass) or to rate discrimination with the trained rate and carrier spectrum, but there was some indication that it generalized to detection with two untrained rates (30 and 150 Hz). Thus, practice improved the ability to detect amplitude modulation, but the generalization of this learning to untrained cases was somewhat limited.     

Late-onset auditory deprivation: effects of monaural versus binaural hearing aids

Performance on tests of pure-tone thresholds, speech-recognition thresholds, and speech-recognition scores for the two ears of each subject were evaluated in two groups of adults with bilateral hearing losses. One group was composed of individuals fitted with binaural hearing aids, and the other group included persons with monaural hearing aids. Performance prior to the use of hearing aids was compared to performance after 4-5 years of hearing aid use in order to determine whether the unaided ear would show effects of auditory deprivation. There were no differences over time for pure-tone thresholds or speech-recognition thresholds for both ears of both groups. Nevertheless, the results revealed that the speech-recognition difference scores of the binaurally fitted subjects remained stable over time whereas they increased for the monaurally fitted subjects. The findings reveal an auditory deprivation effect for the unfitted ears of the subjects with monaural hearing aids.     

Minimum auditory movement angle: binaural localization of moving sound sources

In the first experiment, subjects were asked to discriminate whether a sound was emanating from a moving or stationary source. The minimum audible movement angle (MAMA) thus defined was observed to increase as the source velocity increased. MAMA ranged from a low of 8.3 degrees with the slowest velocity employed (90 degrees/s) to a high of 21.2 degrees with the fastest velocity (360 degrees/s). In the second experiment, subjects were asked to localize where the moving source was, at signal on and offset. The results indicate that the apparent onset is displaced in the direction of motion and the amount of this displacement is directly related to source velocity. Less consistent results were observed with signal offset. The present results suggest that the binaural system is relatively insensitive to motion.     

Measurement of auditory temporal processing using modified masking period patterns

A common metric of auditory temporal processing is the difference in the threshold for a pure-tone signal masked by either unmodulated or amplitude-modulated noise. This technique may be viewed as a modification of the masking period pattern technique. Such measurements have been proposed as an efficient means of estimating auditory temporal resolution in a clinical setting, although in many cases threshold differences may reflect additional spectro-temporal processes. The primary purpose of the present experiment was to examine interactions among signal frequency and masker bandwidth and the effects of modulation frequency on modified masking period patterns. The results revealed unmodulated-modulated threshold differences that increased with increasing masker bandwidth and decreased with increasing modulation frequency. There was little effect of signal frequency for narrow-band noise maskers that were equal in absolute bandwidth across frequency. However, unmodulated-modulated threshold differences increased substantially with increasing signal frequency for bandwidths proportional to the signal frequency and for wideband maskers. Although the results are interpreted in terms of a combination of both within-channel and across-channel cues, the specific contributions of these cues in particular conditions are difficult to ascertain. Because modified masking period patterns depend strongly upon a number of specific stimulus parameters, and because it is difficult to determine with any precision the underlying perceptual processes, this technique is not recommended for use as a clinical measure of auditory temporal processing.     

Dynamic range and asymmetry of the auditory filter

This experiment was designed to measure the shape and asymmetry of the auditory filter over a wider dynamic range than has been measured previously. Thresholds were measured for 2-kHz sinusoidal signals in the presence of two 800-Hz-wide noise bands, one above and one below the signal frequency. The spectrum level of the noise was 45 dB (re: 20 muPa), and the noise bands were placed both symmetrically and asymmetrically about the signal frequency. The deviation of the signal frequency from the nearer edge of each noise band varied from 0 to 0.8 times the signal frequency. Each ear of six subjects was tested, and the subjects' ages ranged from 22 to 74 years. The auditory filters derived from the data were somewhat asymmetric, with steeper slopes on the high-frequency side; the degree of asymmetry varied across subjects. The asymmetry could be characterized as a uniform stretching of the (linear) frequency scale on one side of the filter. The dynamic range of the auditory filter exceeded 60 dB in the younger listeners, but the dynamic range and sharpness of the filter tended to decrease with increasing age.