Sound localization

What are the factors that

determine how well we can
tell where a sound is coming
from?
 Bottom line

Acoustics, peripheral coding,

and central processing are all
important in sound
localization.
 Importance of sound
localization
• Clear survival value: evolutionary
importance
• Involves comparisons between ears
and across the spectrum: requires a
brain
 Sound localization: the
important phenomena
• Effects of position in azimuth
• Effects of frequency
• Effects of position in elevation
The minimum audible angle
(MAA)
Sound 1
Sound 2

Speakers

Which sound came

from the right?

Threshold for detecting a

change in spatial location of a
sound source
 MAA at different positions

From Gelfand (1998)

MAA in azimuth

Judged position

MAA
 MAAazimuth as a function of
frequency

From Blauert (1983)

 MAA in elevation

From Blauert (1983)

 The MAA is
• Better at midline than to the sides in
azimuth
• Not so good for sounds around 1500
Hz
• Not as good in elevation as in
azimuth
WHY?
 Explanations for the
characteristics of the MAA

• Acoustic cues available

• Peripheral coding
• Central processing
 Acoustic cues used in
localization
• Interaural differences
– Interaural intensity differences (IIDs)
– Interaural time differences (ITDs)
• Spectral shape cues
 Interaural intensity
differences

From Gelfand (1998)

Interaural time differences
Why are we better at “straight
ahead” than off to the sides?
 Cone of confusion

From Gelfand (1998)

 Cone of confusion

150 degrees

30 degrees

30 degrees

150 degrees
Why are we better at “straight
ahead” than off to the sides?

• Cone of confusion, front-back confusions

• In the brain, more neurons respond to “straight
ahead” than to “off-to-the side”.
The brain can afford to devote
more neurons to localizing
straight ahead because

• we can turn our heads

• most sounds come from straight ahead
• it isn’t necessary to localize sounds
accurately off to the side
• none of the above; it can’t afford to do this
 IIDs and frequency

From Gelfand (1998)

 Why IIDs depend on
frequency

1600 Hz

From Gelfand (1998)

The reason that sound is more
intense at the ear close to the
sound source is
• the inverse square law; sound has to
travel farther to the far ear
• it takes longer for sound to travel
farther
• the head absorbs and reflects sound
on the side closer to the source
• the head absorbs and reflects sound
on the side farther from the source
If there is a talker on your left
and a talker on your right, and
you really want to hear the
talker on your right, you should
• turn your nose toward the talker on
the right
• turn your nose toward the talker on
the left
• turn your left ear to the left talker and
your right ear to the right talker (and
listen to your right ear)
 Interaural time differences

From Gelfand (1998)

 ITDs and frequency: How
could your brain know if a
sound arrived at one ear .2
ms later than at the other?
 Phase ambiguity
1000 Hz: phase difference is 216 degrees

00 Hz: phase difference is 864 degrees but looks like 144 de

.6 ms

.1 ms
 Phase ambiguity
When the interaural delay is
longer than the period of the
tone, then interaural time
comparison gives an
ambiguous result.
The comparison gives a result of x degrees phase
difference, but the real difference could be 360+x
or 720+x, etc.
 Interaural onset time
comparisons

.6 ms

.6 ms

How about the first (onset) response?

It can be used but not all sounds have abrupt onsets
and it only happens once.
 Interaural time differences
Maximum = .65 ms

F = 1/p

F = 1/.65

F = 1538 Hz

(and any higher frequency

From Gelfand (1998)

 The reason that phase
ambiguity occurs is
• the ear does not encode the starting
phase
• the ear provides no information
about phase
• phase locking does not occur above
5000 Hz
• people use the place code for
frequecies above 2000 Hz
 Interaural cues and
frequency
Cue goodness

IID

ITD

250 500 1000 2000 4000 8000 16000

Neither cue is so good around

1500 Hz.
 How do we know that
(other) characteristics of
the auditory system don’t
also contribute?
 Lateralization experiments

nteraural differences under earphones create the perception

ound source located inside the head, at a position determin
he interaural difference.
Interaural intensity difference
discrimination
Good performance
15 dB

9 dB

0 dB

From Gelfand (1998)

We know it’s the acoustics in
the case of IIDs, because if
we artificially create IIDs at
low frequencies, people hear
sound source at different
locations.
 Interaural time (phase)
difference discrimination

Still can’t do high

frequency

Better at small
phase separations
(straight ahead)

From Gelfand (1998)

 We know it’s the auditory
system in the case of ITDs,
because if we “artificially”
create ITDs at high
frequencies, people still can’t
tell what the sound source
location is.
 Envelope ITD

ITD
 AM lateralization

From Yost (1994)

 We know there is a
contribution of the auditory
system in the case of
differences between positions,
because if we artificially
create different positions,
people can still “lateralize”
better for midline than for
lateral positions.
 Explanations for the
characteristics of the MAA

• Acoustic cues available

• Peripheral coding
• Central processing
 The MAA is
• Better at midline than to the sides in
azimuth
• Not so good for sounds around 1500
Hz
• Not as good in elevation as in
azimuth
WHY?
What are the acoustic cues to
sound elevation?

Sound source moving along

an arc directly overhead at
midline

No interaural differences
 What are the acoustic cues
to sound elevation?
Elevation - no
Azimuth - yes, but front-
back confusions
Elevation - no
Azimuth - yes
Elevation - yes
Azimuth - yes

Localization in elevation requires

pinnas
From Blauert (1983)
 What do pinnas do for us?

e acoustic cue used to localize in elevation is spectral shape

From Gelfand (1998)
 That localization is less
precise in elevation than in
azimuth suggests that
spectral shape is not as good
a cue to location as
interaural differences.
 Localization in azimuth
with one ear is similar in
precision to localization in
elevation.

From Gelfand (1998)

Spectral shape cues are available, but used as supplemental

Information for localization in azimuth.
 Another role of spectral
shape cues

Unprocessed sound Sound shaped

by “HRTF
Reason that localization in
azimuth is better straight
ahead than off to the side
• acoustic cues available
• peripheral coding
• central processing
Reason that localization in
azimuth is not so good for
sounds around 1500 Hz
• acoustic cues available
• peripheral coding
• central processing
Reason that localization in
elevation is not as good as in
azimuth
• acoustic cues available
• peripheral coding
• central processing
 Conclusions
• The cues to sound location are
interaural time and intensity
differences and spectral shape.
• Interaural intensity cues are
primarily used at high frequencies,
due to acoustic limitations.
• Interaural time cues are primarily
used at low frequencies, due to
limitations in peripheral coding of
sound, although they can be used
to localize amplitude modulated
sounds.
 Conclusions (continued)
• Spectral cues are used in localization
in elevation, to resolve front-back
confusions, and to produce the
perception of a sound in space.
• Neural processing limitations make
us more sensitive in sound
localization straight ahead.
 Text sources
• Blauert, (1983). Spatial hearing: The
psychophysics of human sound localization.
Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.
• Gelfand, S.A. (1998) Hearing: An introduction to
psychological and physiological acoustics. New
York: Marcel Dekker.
• Yost, W.A. (1994) Fundamentals of hearing: an
introduction. San Diego: Academic Press.