Reflection orders and auditory distance

The auditory system allows the estimation of the distance to sound-emitting objects using multiple spatial cues. In virtual acoustics over headphones, a prerequisite to render auditory distance impression is sound externalization, which denotes the perception of synthesized stimuli outside of the head. Prior studies have found that listeners with mild-to-moderate hearing loss are able to perceive auditory distance and are sensitive to externalization. However, this ability may be degraded by certain factors, such as non-linear amplification in hearing aids or the use of a remote wireless microphone. In this study, 10 normal-hearing and 20 moderate-to-profound hearing-impaired listeners were instructed to estimate the distance of stimuli processed with different methods yielding various perceived auditory distances in the vicinity of the listeners. Two different configurations of non-linear amplification were implemented, and a novel feature aiming to restore a sense of distance in wireless microphone systems was tested. The results showed that the hearing-impaired listeners, even those with a profound hearing loss, were able to discriminate nearby and far sounds that were equalized in level. Their perception of auditory distance was however more contracted than in normal-hearing listeners. Non-linear amplification was found to distort the original spatial cues, but no adverse effect on the ratings of auditory distance was evident. Finally, it was shown that the novel feature was successful in allowing the hearing-impaired participants to perceive externalized sounds with wireless microphone systems.

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Effects of stimulus order on auditory distance discrimination of virtual nearby sound sources

The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America ◽

10.1121/1.4979842 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 141 (4) ◽

pp. EL375-EL380 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Simone Spagnol ◽

Rebekka Hoffmann ◽

Árni Kristjánsson ◽

Federico Avanzini

Keyword(s):

Sound Sources ◽

Stimulus Order ◽

Auditory Distance ◽

Distance Discrimination

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Auditory Distance Perception in Real, Virtual, and Mixed Environments

Mixed Reality ◽

10.1007/978-3-642-87512-0_11 ◽

1999 ◽

pp. 201-214 ◽

Cited By ~ 14

Author(s):

Jack M. Loomis ◽

Roberta L. Klatzky ◽

Reginald G. Golledge

Keyword(s):

Distance Perception ◽

Auditory Distance

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Frequency effects and markedness in phonotactics

Poznan Studies in Contemporary Linguistics ◽

10.1515/psicl-2019-0006 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 55 (1) ◽

pp. 157-179 ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

Paula Orzechowska ◽

Paulina Zydorowicz

Keyword(s):

Consonant Clusters ◽

Frequency Effects ◽

Frequency Bands ◽

The Core ◽

Auditory Distance ◽

The Relationship ◽

Written Corpus

Abstract In this paper, we take up the challenge of exploring the relationship between markedness and frequency in phonotactics. The study is based on word-initial and word-final consonant clusters in Polish and English. The aim of this study is threefold. First, we establish logarithmic frequencies for word-initial and final consonant clusters compiled from two resources, a dictionary (or paradigm) and a written corpus. Second, we examine the preferability status of clusters in three frequency bands (high, mid, low) in terms of two phonotactic principles, i.e. sonority and Net Auditory Distance. Finally, we test the correlations between degrees of markedness and frequency. The present paper extends our previous studies on comparative Polish–English phonotactics, where markedness and frequency constitute the core of the analysis. The study shows that there is no relationship between cluster markedness and its frequency. As to frequencies, Polish and English differ from each other with respect to the distribution of clusters in the dictionary list, while the disproportions are neutralized in usage.

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