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González-Toledo D, Cuevas-Rodríguez M, Vicente T, Picinali L, Molina-Tanco L, Reyes-Lecuona A. Spatial release from masking in the median plane with non-native speakers using individual and mannequin head related transfer functions. THE JOURNAL OF THE ACOUSTICAL SOCIETY OF AMERICA 2024; 155:284-293. [PMID: 38227426 DOI: 10.1121/10.0024239] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/16/2023] [Accepted: 12/12/2023] [Indexed: 01/17/2024]
Abstract
Spatial release from masking (SRM) in speech-on-speech tasks has been widely studied in the horizontal plane, where interaural cues play a fundamental role. Several studies have also observed SRM for sources located in the median plane, where (monaural) spectral cues are more important. However, a relatively unexplored research question concerns the impact of head-related transfer function (HRTF) personalisation on SRM, for example, whether using individually-measured HRTFs results in better performance if compared with the use of mannequin HRTFs. This study compares SRM in the median plane in a speech-on-speech virtual task rendered using both individual and mannequin HRTFs. SRM is obtained using English sentences with non-native English speakers. Our participants show lower SRM performances compared to those found by others using native English participants. Furthermore, SRM is significantly larger when the source is spatialised using the individual HRTF, and this effect is more marked for those with lower English proficiency. Further analyses using a spectral distortion metric and the estimation of the better-ear effect, show that the observed SRM can only partially be explained by HRTF-specific factors and that the effect of the familiarity with individual spatial cues is likely to be the most significant element driving these results.
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Affiliation(s)
- Daniel González-Toledo
- Telecommunication Research Institute (TELMA), Universidad de Málaga, ETSI Telecomunicación, 29010 Málaga, Spain
| | - María Cuevas-Rodríguez
- Telecommunication Research Institute (TELMA), Universidad de Málaga, ETSI Telecomunicación, 29010 Málaga, Spain
| | - Thibault Vicente
- Audio Experience Design, Dyson School of Design Engineering, Imperial College London, London SW7 2DB, United Kingdom
| | - Lorenzo Picinali
- Audio Experience Design, Dyson School of Design Engineering, Imperial College London, London SW7 2DB, United Kingdom
| | - Luis Molina-Tanco
- Telecommunication Research Institute (TELMA), Universidad de Málaga, ETSI Telecomunicación, 29010 Málaga, Spain
| | - Arcadio Reyes-Lecuona
- Telecommunication Research Institute (TELMA), Universidad de Málaga, ETSI Telecomunicación, 29010 Málaga, Spain
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Wagner L, Geiling L, Hauth C, Hocke T, Plontke S, Rahne T. Improved binaural speech reception thresholds through small symmetrical separation of speech and noise. PLoS One 2020; 15:e0236469. [PMID: 32756594 PMCID: PMC7406049 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0236469] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/18/2019] [Accepted: 07/07/2020] [Indexed: 12/02/2022] Open
Abstract
Speech perception in noise is challenging and is improved by binaural hearing. Since signal processing of assistive hearing devices often modifies or masks the peripheral binaural head-shadow or better-ear effects, central binaural processing should be measured separately. In a prospective study, 10 listeners with normal hearing were tested with the German matrix sentence test in a set-up with two loudspeakers located at opposite angles in the horizontal plane with respect to S0N0. The speech reception threshold (SRT) was investigated depending on the separation angle between speech and noise. The lowest (best) SRT was obtained for a separation of target and interfering source from S0N0 at an angle of about S±60°N∓60°. The derived normative curve was comparable to SRTs predicted by the binaural-speech-intelligibility-model. The systematic separation of signal and noise showed a significant improvement in speech intelligibility for normal-hearing people even for small separation angles. This experimental setting was verified. This study aimed to assess the effect of small sound source separation on binaural hearing and speech perception.
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Affiliation(s)
- Luise Wagner
- Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Head and Neck Surgery, Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg, University Medicine Halle, Halle, Germany
- * E-mail:
| | - Lukas Geiling
- Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Head and Neck Surgery, Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg, University Medicine Halle, Halle, Germany
| | - Christopher Hauth
- Department of Medical Physics and Cluster of Excellence Hearing4All, Carl von Ossietzky University, Oldenburg, Germany
| | - Thomas Hocke
- Cochlear Deutschland GmbH & Co. KG, Hannover, Germany
| | - Stefan Plontke
- Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Head and Neck Surgery, Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg, University Medicine Halle, Halle, Germany
| | - Torsten Rahne
- Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Head and Neck Surgery, Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg, University Medicine Halle, Halle, Germany
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Ahrens A, Marschall M, Dau T. The effect of spatial energy spread on sound image size and speech intelligibility. THE JOURNAL OF THE ACOUSTICAL SOCIETY OF AMERICA 2020; 147:1368. [PMID: 32237851 DOI: 10.1121/10.0000747] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/04/2019] [Accepted: 01/30/2020] [Indexed: 06/11/2023]
Abstract
This study explored the relationship between perceived sound image size and speech intelligibility for sound sources reproduced over loudspeakers. Sources with varying degrees of spatial energy spread were generated using ambisonics processing. Young normal-hearing listeners estimated sound image size as well as performed two spatial release from masking (SRM) tasks with two symmetrically arranged interfering talkers. Either the target-to-masker ratio or the separation angle was varied adaptively. Results showed that the sound image size did not change systematically with the energy spread. However, a larger energy spread did result in a decreased SRM. Furthermore, the listeners needed a greater angular separation angle between the target and the interfering sources for sources with a larger energy spread. Further analysis revealed that the method employed to vary the energy spread did not lead to systematic changes in the interaural cross correlations. Future experiments with competing talkers using ambisonics or similar methods may consider the resulting energy spread in relation to the minimum separation angle between sound sources in order to avoid degradations in speech intelligibility.
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Affiliation(s)
- Axel Ahrens
- Hearing Systems Section, Department of Health Technology, Technical University of Denmark, Building 352, Ørsteds Plads, 2800 Kongens Lyngby, Denmark
| | - Marton Marschall
- Hearing Systems Section, Department of Health Technology, Technical University of Denmark, Building 352, Ørsteds Plads, 2800 Kongens Lyngby, Denmark
| | - Torsten Dau
- Hearing Systems Section, Department of Health Technology, Technical University of Denmark, Building 352, Ørsteds Plads, 2800 Kongens Lyngby, Denmark
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Monson BB, Rock J, Schulz A, Hoffman E, Buss E. Ecological cocktail party listening reveals the utility of extended high-frequency hearing. Hear Res 2019; 381:107773. [PMID: 31404807 DOI: 10.1016/j.heares.2019.107773] [Citation(s) in RCA: 43] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/22/2019] [Revised: 07/19/2019] [Accepted: 07/27/2019] [Indexed: 10/26/2022]
Abstract
A fundamental principle of neuroscience is that each species' and individual's sensory systems are tailored to meet the demands placed upon them by their environments and experiences. What has driven the upper limit of the human frequency range of hearing? The traditional view is that sensitivity to the highest frequencies (i.e., beyond 8 kHz) facilitates localization of sounds in the environment. However, this has yet to be demonstrated for naturally occurring non-speech sounds. An alternative view is that, for social species such as humans, the biological relevance of conspecific vocalizations has driven the development and retention of auditory system features. Here, we provide evidence for the latter theory. We evaluated the contribution of extended high-frequency (EHF) hearing to common ecological speech perception tasks. We found that restricting access to EHFs reduced listeners' discrimination of talker head orientation by approximately 34%. Furthermore, access to EHFs significantly improved speech recognition under listening conditions in which the target talker's head was facing the listener while co-located background talkers faced away from the listener. Our findings raise the possibility that sensitivity to the highest audio frequencies fosters communication and socialization of the human species. These findings suggest that loss of sensitivity to the highest frequencies may lead to deficits in speech perception. Such EHF hearing loss typically goes undiagnosed, but is widespread among the middle-aged population.
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Affiliation(s)
- Brian B Monson
- Department of Speech and Hearing Science, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, United States; Neuroscience Program, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, United States.
| | - Jenna Rock
- Department of Speech and Hearing Science, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, United States
| | - Anneliese Schulz
- Department of Speech and Hearing Science, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, United States
| | - Elissa Hoffman
- Department of Speech and Hearing Science, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, United States
| | - Emily Buss
- Department of Otolaryngology/Head and Neck Surgery, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, United States
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Cubick J, Buchholz JM, Best V, Lavandier M, Dau T. Listening through hearing aids affects spatial perception and speech intelligibility in normal-hearing listeners. THE JOURNAL OF THE ACOUSTICAL SOCIETY OF AMERICA 2018; 144:2896. [PMID: 30522291 PMCID: PMC6246072 DOI: 10.1121/1.5078582] [Citation(s) in RCA: 23] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/11/2023]
Abstract
Cubick and Dau [(2016). Acta Acust. Acust. 102, 547-557] showed that speech reception thresholds (SRTs) in noise, obtained with normal-hearing listeners, were significantly higher with hearing aids (HAs) than without. Some listeners reported a change in their spatial perception of the stimuli due to the HA processing, with auditory images often being broader and closer to the head or even internalized. The current study investigated whether worse speech intelligibility with HAs might be explained by distorted spatial perception and the resulting reduced ability to spatially segregate the target speech from the interferers. SRTs were measured in normal-hearing listeners with or without HAs in the presence of three interfering talkers or speech-shaped noises. Furthermore, listeners were asked to sketch their spatial perception of the acoustic scene. Consistent with the previous study, SRTs increased with HAs. Spatial release from masking was lower with HAs than without. The effects were similar for noise and speech maskers and appeared to be accounted for by changes to energetic masking. This interpretation was supported by results from a binaural speech intelligibility model. Even though the sketches indicated a change of spatial perception with HAs, no direct link between spatial perception and segregation of talkers could be shown.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jens Cubick
- Hearing Systems Group, Department of Electrical Engineering, Technical University of Denmark, Ørsteds Plads, Building 352, 2800 Kongens Lyngby, Denmark
| | - Jörg M Buchholz
- Department of Linguistics, Australian Hearing Hub, 16 University Avenue, Macquarie University, New South Wales 2109, Australia
| | - Virginia Best
- Department of Speech, Language and Hearing Sciences, Boston University, Boston, Massachusetts 02215, USA
| | - Mathieu Lavandier
- Univ Lyon, ENTPE, Laboratoire Génie Civil et Bâtiment, Rue M. Audin, F-69518 Vaulx-en-Velin, France
| | - Torsten Dau
- Hearing Systems Group, Department of Electrical Engineering, Technical University of Denmark, Ørsteds Plads, Building 352, 2800 Kongens Lyngby, Denmark
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Having Two Ears Facilitates the Perceptual Separation of Concurrent Talkers for Bilateral and Single-Sided Deaf Cochlear Implantees. Ear Hear 2018; 37:289-302. [PMID: 26886027 DOI: 10.1097/aud.0000000000000284] [Citation(s) in RCA: 62] [Impact Index Per Article: 10.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/26/2022]
Abstract
OBJECTIVES Listening to speech with multiple competing talkers requires the perceptual separation of the target voice from the interfering background. Normal-hearing listeners are able to take advantage of perceived differences in the spatial locations of competing sound sources to facilitate this process. Previous research suggests that bilateral (BI) cochlear-implant (CI) listeners cannot do so, and it is unknown whether single-sided deaf (SSD) CI users (one acoustic and one CI ear) have this ability. This study investigated whether providing a second ear via cochlear implantation can facilitate the perceptual separation of targets and interferers in a listening situation involving multiple competing talkers. DESIGN BI-CI and SSD-CI listeners were required to identify speech from a target talker mixed with one or two interfering talkers. In the baseline monaural condition, the target speech and the interferers were presented to one of the CIs (for the BI-CI listeners) or to the acoustic ear (for the SSD-CI listeners). In the bilateral condition, the target was still presented to the first ear but the interferers were presented to both the target ear and the listener's second ear (always a CI), thereby testing whether CI listeners could use information about the interferer obtained from a second ear to facilitate perceptual separation of the target and interferer. RESULTS Presenting a copy of the interfering signals to the second ear improved performance, up to 4 to 5 dB (12 to 18 percentage points), but the amount of improvement depended on the type of interferer. For BI-CI listeners, the improvement occurred mainly in conditions involving one interfering talker, regardless of gender. For SSD-CI listeners, the improvement occurred in conditions involving one or two interfering talkers of the same gender as the target. This interaction is consistent with the idea that the SSD-CI listeners had access to pitch cues in their normal-hearing ear to separate the opposite-gender target and interferers, while the BI-CI listeners did not. CONCLUSIONS These results suggest that a second auditory input via a CI can facilitate the perceptual separation of competing talkers in situations where monaural cues are insufficient to do so, thus partially restoring a key advantage of having two ears that was previously thought to be inaccessible to CI users.
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David M, Lavandier M, Grimault N, Oxenham AJ. Discrimination and streaming of speech sounds based on differences in interaural and spectral cues. THE JOURNAL OF THE ACOUSTICAL SOCIETY OF AMERICA 2017; 142:1674. [PMID: 28964066 PMCID: PMC5617732 DOI: 10.1121/1.5003809] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/09/2017] [Revised: 09/01/2017] [Accepted: 09/07/2017] [Indexed: 05/29/2023]
Abstract
Differences in spatial cues, including interaural time differences (ITDs), interaural level differences (ILDs) and spectral cues, can lead to stream segregation of alternating noise bursts. It is unknown how effective such cues are for streaming sounds with realistic spectro-temporal variations. In particular, it is not known whether the high-frequency spectral cues associated with elevation remain sufficiently robust under such conditions. To answer these questions, sequences of consonant-vowel tokens were generated and filtered by non-individualized head-related transfer functions to simulate the cues associated with different positions in the horizontal and median planes. A discrimination task showed that listeners could discriminate changes in interaural cues both when the stimulus remained constant and when it varied between presentations. However, discrimination of changes in spectral cues was much poorer in the presence of stimulus variability. A streaming task, based on the detection of repeated syllables in the presence of interfering syllables, revealed that listeners can use both interaural and spectral cues to segregate alternating syllable sequences, despite the large spectro-temporal differences between stimuli. However, only the full complement of spatial cues (ILDs, ITDs, and spectral cues) resulted in obligatory streaming in a task that encouraged listeners to integrate the tokens into a single stream.
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Affiliation(s)
- Marion David
- Department of Psychology, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, Minnesota 55455, USA
| | - Mathieu Lavandier
- Univ Lyon, ENTPE, Laboratoire Génie Civil et bâtiment, Rue Maurice Audin, 69518 Vaulx-en-Velin Cedex, France
| | - Nicolas Grimault
- Centre de Recherche en Neurosciences de Lyon, Université Lyon 1, Cognition Auditive et Psychoacoustique, Avenue Tony Garnier, 69366 Lyon Cedex 07, France
| | - Andrew J Oxenham
- Department of Psychology, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, Minnesota 55455, USA
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Binaural Glimpses at the Cocktail Party? J Assoc Res Otolaryngol 2016; 17:461-73. [PMID: 27412529 DOI: 10.1007/s10162-016-0575-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/27/2015] [Accepted: 06/21/2016] [Indexed: 10/21/2022] Open
Abstract
Humans often have to focus on a single target sound while ignoring competing maskers in everyday situations. In such conditions, speech intelligibility (SI) is improved when a target speaker is spatially separated from a masker (spatial release from making, SRM) compared to situations where both are co-located. Such asymmetric spatial configurations lead to a 'better-ear effect' with improved signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) at one ear. However, maskers often surround the listener leading to more symmetric configurations where better-ear effects are absent in a long-term, wideband sense. Nevertheless, better-ear glimpses distributed across time and frequency persist and were suggested to account for SRM (Brungart and Iyer 2012). Here, speech reception was assessed using symmetric masker configurations while varying the spatio-temporal distribution of potential better-ear glimpses. Listeners were presented with a frontal target and eight single-talker maskers in four different symmetrical spatial configurations. Compared to the reference condition with co-located target and maskers, an SRM of up to 6 dB was observed. The SRM persisted when the frequency range of the maskers above or below 1500 Hz was replaced with stationary speech-shaped noise. Comparison to a recent short-time binaural SI model showed that better-ear glimpses can account for half the observed SRM, while binaural interaction utilizing phase differences is required to explain the other half.
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Hendrickx E, Paquier M, Koehl V, Palacino J. Ventriloquism effect with sound stimuli varying in both azimuth and elevation. THE JOURNAL OF THE ACOUSTICAL SOCIETY OF AMERICA 2015; 138:3686-3697. [PMID: 26723324 DOI: 10.1121/1.4937758] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/05/2023]
Abstract
When presented with a spatially discordant auditory-visual stimulus, subjects sometimes perceive the sound and the visual stimuli as coming from the same location. Such a phenomenon is often referred to as perceptual fusion or ventriloquism, as it evokes the illusion created by a ventriloquist when his voice seems to emanate from his puppet rather than from his mouth. While this effect has been extensively examined in the horizontal plane and to a lesser extent in distance, few psychoacoustic studies have focused on elevation. In the present experiment, sequences of a man talking were presented to subjects. His voice could be reproduced on different loudspeakers, which created disparities in both azimuth and elevation between the sound and the visual stimuli. For each presentation, subjects had to indicate whether the voice seemed to emanate from the mouth of the actor or not. Results showed that ventriloquism could be observed with larger audiovisual disparities in elevation than in azimuth.
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Affiliation(s)
- Etienne Hendrickx
- University of Brest, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, Laboratoire des Sciences et Techniques de l'Information, de la Communication et de la Connaissance, Unité Mixte de Recherche 6285, 6 Avenue Victor Le Gorgeu, CS 93837 29238 Brest Cedex 3, France
| | - Mathieu Paquier
- University of Brest, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, Laboratoire des Sciences et Techniques de l'Information, de la Communication et de la Connaissance, Unité Mixte de Recherche 6285, 6 Avenue Victor Le Gorgeu, CS 93837 29238 Brest Cedex 3, France
| | - Vincent Koehl
- University of Brest, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, Laboratoire des Sciences et Techniques de l'Information, de la Communication et de la Connaissance, Unité Mixte de Recherche 6285, 6 Avenue Victor Le Gorgeu, CS 93837 29238 Brest Cedex 3, France
| | - Julian Palacino
- University of Brest, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, Laboratoire des Sciences et Techniques de l'Information, de la Communication et de la Connaissance, Unité Mixte de Recherche 6285, 6 Avenue Victor Le Gorgeu, CS 93837 29238 Brest Cedex 3, France
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Shabtai NR. Optimization of the directivity in binaural sound reproduction beamforming. THE JOURNAL OF THE ACOUSTICAL SOCIETY OF AMERICA 2015; 138:3118-3128. [PMID: 26627785 DOI: 10.1121/1.4934960] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/05/2023]
Abstract
Microphone arrays usually combine multiple input signals into one output signal, such that spatial information on the sound sources is not included in the output signal. Since spatial information on the sound sources may increase the intelligibility of a speech signal that is perceived by a human listener, recent works aim to include this spatial information in the output of the microphone array by utilizing binaural cues preservation. More current works apply binaural sound reproduction (BSR) using spherical microphone arrays by incorporating the head related transfer functions (HRTFs) in the weight function of a conventional maximum-directivity beamformer. However, the HRTFs may affect the optimality of beamformers that were already designed to provide a maximal directivity without the HRTFs. This work presents a more general mathematical framework than previously presented for the incorporation of HRTFs in the weight function, which allows the optimization of the weight function using an averaged maximum-directivity criterion under the condition that the HRTFs are already incorporated. It is shown that the proposed optimized BSR beamformer achieves higher directivity index.
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Affiliation(s)
- Noam R Shabtai
- Institute of Technical Acoustics, RWTH Aachen University, Kopernikusstraße 5, Aachen, 52074, Germany
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David M, Lavandier M, Grimault N. Room and head coloration can induce obligatory stream segregation. THE JOURNAL OF THE ACOUSTICAL SOCIETY OF AMERICA 2014; 136:5-8. [PMID: 24993189 DOI: 10.1121/1.4883387] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/03/2023]
Abstract
Multiple sound reflections from room materials and a listener's head induce slight spectral modifications of sounds. This coloration depends on the listener and source positions, and on the room itself. This study investigated whether coloration could help segregate competing sources. Obligatory streaming was evaluated for diotic speech-shaped noises using a rhythmic discrimination task. Thresholds for detecting anisochrony were always significantly higher when stimuli differed in spectrum. The tested differences corresponded to three spatial configurations involving different levels of head and room coloration. These results suggest that, despite the generally deleterious effects of reverberation on speech intelligibility, coloration could favor source segregation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Marion David
- Université de Lyon, École Nationale des Travaux Publics de l'État, Laboratoire Génie Civil et Bâtiment, Rue M. Audin, 69518 Vaulx-en-Velin Cedex, France
| | - Mathieu Lavandier
- Université de Lyon, École Nationale des Travaux Publics de l'État, Laboratoire Génie Civil et Bâtiment, Rue M. Audin, 69518 Vaulx-en-Velin Cedex, France
| | - Nicolas Grimault
- Unité Mixte de Recherche au Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique 5292, Centre de Recherche en Neurosciences de Lyon, Université Lyon 1, Cognition Auditive et Psychoacoustique, Avenue Tony Garnier, 69366 Lyon Cedex 07, France
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Lutfi RA, Gilbertson L, Heo I, Chang AC, Stamas J. The information-divergence hypothesis of informational masking. THE JOURNAL OF THE ACOUSTICAL SOCIETY OF AMERICA 2013; 134:2160-70. [PMID: 23967946 PMCID: PMC3765281 DOI: 10.1121/1.4817875] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/08/2013] [Revised: 07/15/2013] [Accepted: 07/19/2013] [Indexed: 06/01/2023]
Abstract
In recent years there has been growing interest in masking that cannot be attributed to interactions in the cochlea-so--called informational masking (IM). Similarity in the acoustic properties of target and masker and uncertainty regarding the masker are the two major factors identified with IM. These factors involve quite different manipulations of signals and are believed to entail fundamentally different processes resulting in IM. Here, however, evidence is presented that these factors affect IM through their mutual influence on a single factor-the information divergence of target and masker given by Simpson-Fitter's da [Lutfi et al. (2012). J. Acoust. Soc. Am. 132, EL109-113]. Four experiments are described involving multitone pattern discrimination, multi-talker word recognition, sound-source identification, and sound localization. In each case standard manipulations of masker uncertainty and target-masker similarity (including the covariation of target-masker frequencies) are found to have the same effect on performance provided they produce the same change in da. The function relating d(') performance to da, moreover, appears to be linear with constant slope across listeners. The overriding dependence of IM on da is taken to reflect a general principle of perception that exploits differences in the statistical structure of signals to separate figure from ground.
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Affiliation(s)
- Robert A Lutfi
- Auditory Behavioral Research Lab, Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders, University of Wisconsin, Madison, Wisconsin 53706, USA.
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