Abstract
It is apparent, particularly when we close our eyes, that the auditory system creates a spatial representation of the acoustic environment. We are able to monitor sound sources in all directions, determine the nature and positions of the various sound sources, and focus our attention on sounds in a particular direction. In addition, we can determine certain aspects of the environment itself, such as the size and acoustic “liveness” of the space in which the sounds are generated. Although certain aspects of auditory spatial perception and directional hearing can be achieved when listening with a single ear, it is clear that listening is easier and more effective when listening with two ears. This conclusion is supported by subjective reports as well as by objective experiments on both normal and hearing-impaired listeners (e.g., see Durlach and Colburn, 1978; Durlach et al, 1981; Blauert, 1983; Hausler et al, 1983).
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Preview
Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.
References
Blauert, J. (1970) Zur Traegheit des Richtunghoeren bei Laufzeit- und Intensitaets- Stereophonie [On the persistence of directional hearing in connection with time–and intensity-difference stereophonic sound], Acustica 23, 287–293; also Int. Audiol. (1972) 11, 265–270
Blauert, J. (1983). Spatial Hearing. Cambridge, Mass: MIT Press.
Braida, L.D., Lim, J.S., Berliner, J. E., Durlach, N.I., Rabinowitz, W.M., Purks, S.R. (1984). Intensity perception. XIII. Perceptual anchor model of context- coding. J. Acoust. Soc. Am. 76, 722–731.
Colburn, H.S. (1982). Binaural interaction and localization with various hearing impairments. In: Binaural Effects in Normal and Impaired Hearing. Pedersen, O.J., Poulsen, T. (eds.). Scand. Audiol. Suppl. 15.
Domnitz, R. (1973). The interaural time jnd as a function of interaural time and interaural amplitude. J. Acoust. Soc. Am. 53, 1549–1552.
Durlach, N.I. (1964). Note on binaural masking-level differences at high frequencies. J. Acoust. Soc. Am. 36, 576–581.
Durlach, N.I., Braida, L.D. (1969). Intensity Perception. I. Preliminary Theory of Intensity Resolution. J. Acoust. Soc. Am. 46, 372–383.
Durlach, N.I., Colburn, H.S. (1978). Binaural phenomena. In: Handbook of Perception, Vol. 4. Carterette, E., Friedman, M. (eds.). New York: Academic Press.
Durlach, N.I., Pang, X.D. (1986). Interaural magnification. J. Acoust. Soc. Am. 80, 1849–1850.
Durlach, N.I., Thompson, C.L., Colburn, H.S. (1981). Binaural interaction in impaired listeners—A review of past research. Audiology 20, 181–211.
Florentine, M., Thompson, C.L., Colburn, H.S., Durlach, N.I. (1979). Psycho- acoustical studies of a patient with a unilateral vestibular schwannoma. J. Acoust. Soc. Am.—Speech Communication Papers, 579–582.
Franklin, B. (1969). The effect on consonant discrimination of combining a low- frequency passband in one ear with a high-frequency passband in the other ear. J. Aud. Res. 9, 365–378.
Franklin, B. (1975). The effect of combining low- and high-frequency passbands on consonant recognition in the hearing impaired. J. Speech Hear. Res. 18, 719–727.
Gabriel, K.J. (1983). Binaural interaction in hearing-impaired listeners. Ph.D. Thesis, MIT, Cambridge, Mass.
Gelfand, S.A. (1979). Usage of CROS hearing aids by unilaterally deaf patients. Arch. Otolaryngol. 105, 328–332.
Gelfand, S.A., Silman, S. (1981). Use of CROS and IROS hearing aids by patients with high-frequency hearing loss. Ear Hear. 3, 24–29.
Grantham, D.W. (1984). Discrimination of dynamic interaural intensity differences. J. Acoust. Soc. Am. 76, 71–76.
Grantham, D.W., Wightman, F.L. (1978). Detectability of varying interaural temporal differences. J. Acoust. Soc. Am. 63, 511–523.
Grantham, D.W., Wightman, F.L. (1980). Detectability of a pulsed tone in the presence of a masker with time-varying interaural correlation. J. Acoust. Soc. Am. 65, 1509–1517.
Haas, G.F. (1982). Impaired listeners recognition of speech presented dichotically through high- and low-pass filters. Audiology 21, 433–453.
Harford, E., Dodds, E. (1974). Versions of the CROS hearing aid. Arch. Otolaryngol. 100, 50–57.
Hausler, R., Colburn, H.S., Marr, E. (1983). Sound localization in subjects with impaired hearing. Acta Oto-Laryngol. Suppl. 400.
Hawkins, D.B., Yacullo, W.S. (1984). Signal-to-noise ratio advantage of binaural hearing aids and directional microphones under different levels of reverberation. J. Speech Hear. Disord. 49, 278–286.
Held, R. (1955). Shifts in binaural localization after prolonged exposures to atypical combinations of stimuli. Am. J. Psychol. 68, 526–548.
Hershkowitz, R.M., Durlach, N.I. (1969). Interaural time and amplitude jnds for a 500-Hz tone. J. Acoust. Soc. Am. 46, 1464–1467.
Kaiser, J.F., David, E.E. (1960). Reproducing the cocktail party effect. J. Acoust. Soc. Am. 32, 918.
Koenig, W. (1950). Subjective effects in binaural hearing. J. Acoust. Soc. Am. 22, 61–62.
Levitt, H., Rabiner, L.R. (1967). Predicting binaural gain in intelligibility and release from masking for speech. J. Acoust. Soc. Am. 42, 820–829.
Libby, E. (1980). Binaural Hearing and Amplification. Chicago: Zenetron.
Markides, A. (1977). Binaural Hearing Aids. New York: Academic Press.
Mills, A.W. (1958). On the minimum audible angle. J. Acoust. Soc. Am. 30, 237–246.
Mitchell, O.M.M., Ross, C.A., Yates, G.H. (1971). Signal processing for a cocktail party effect. J. Acoust. Soc. Am. 50, 656–660.
Rosenthal, R.D., Lang, J.K., Levitt, H. (1975). Speech reception with low-frequency speech energy. J. Acoust. Soc. Am. 57, 949–955.
Roser, D. (1966). Directional hearing in persons with hearing disorders. J. Laryngol. Rhinol. 45, 423–440.
Searle, C.L., Braida, L.D., Davis, M.F., Colburn, H.S. (1976). A model for auditory localization. J. Acoust. Soc. Am. 60, 1164–1175.
Shaw, E.A.G. (1974). Transformation of sound pressure level from the free field to the eardrum in the horizontal plane. J. Acoust. Soc. Am. 56, 1848–1861.
Sung, G.S., Sung, R.J., Angelelli, R.M. (1975). Directional microphone in hearing aids: Effects on speech discrimination in noise. Arch. Otolaryng. 101, 316–319.
Wien, G. (1964). A preliminary investigation of the effect of headwidth on binaural hearing. S.M. Thesis, MIT, Cambridge, Mass.
Zurek, P.M. (1979). Measurements of binaural echo suppression. J. Acoust. Soc. Am. 66, 1750–1757.
Zurek, P.M. (1983). A predictive model for binaural advantages in speech intelligibility. J. Acoust. Soc. Am. 71, S87.
Zurek, P.M., Durlach, N.I., Colburn, H.S., Gabriel, K.J. (1983). Masker bandwidth and the MLD. J. Acoust. Soc. Am. 73, S77.
Zurek, P.M. (1986). Consequences of conductive auditory impairment for binaural hearing. J. Acoust. Soc. Am. 80, 466–472.
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 1987 Springer-Verlag New York Inc.
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Colburn, H.S., Zurek, P.M., Durlach, N.I. (1987). Binaural Directional Hearing—Impairments and Aids. In: Yost, W.A., Gourevitch, G. (eds) Directional Hearing. Proceedings in Life Sciences. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4612-4738-8_11
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4612-4738-8_11
Publisher Name: Springer, New York, NY
Print ISBN: 978-1-4612-9135-0
Online ISBN: 978-1-4612-4738-8
eBook Packages: Springer Book Archive