On the Localization of High-frequency, Sinusoidally Amplitude-modulated Tones in Free Field

Overview

Journal J Acoust Soc Am

Publisher American Institute of Physics

Specialty Otorhinolaryngology

Date 2017 Mar 4

PMID 28253653

Citations 1

Authors

Eric J Macaulay

Brad Rakerd

Thomas J Andrews

William M Hartmann

Affiliations

Soon will be listed here.

Abstract

Previous headphone experiments have shown that listeners can lateralize high-frequency sine-wave amplitude-modulated (SAM) tones based on interaural time differences in the envelope. However, when SAM tones are presented to listeners in free field or in a room, diffraction by the head or reflections from room surfaces alter the modulation percentages and change the shapes of the envelopes, potentially degrading the envelope cue. Amplitude modulation is transformed into mixed modulation. This article presents a mathematical transformation between the six spectral parameters for a modulated tone and six mixed-modulation parameters for each ear. The transformation was used to characterize the stimuli in the ear canals of listeners in free-field localization experiments. The mixed modulation parameters were compared with the perceived changes in localization attributable to the modulation for five different listeners, who benefited from the modulation to different extents. It is concluded that individual differences in the response to added modulation were not systematically related to the physical modulation parameters themselves. Instead, they were likely caused by individual differences in processing of envelope interaural time differences.

Citing Articles

Wave interference at the contralateral ear helps explain non-monotonic envelope interaural time differences as a function of azimuth.

Mayo P, Brown A, Goupell M JASA Express Lett. 2023; 3(3):034403.

PMID: 37003716 PMC: 10041410. DOI: 10.1121/10.0017631.

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