Auditory Perception

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Why?
Human Ear modifies sound.
Loudness affects frequency perception.
Directional perception is key to understanding stereo
recording techniques.

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Less is known about the hearing

mechanism than any of the other
4 senses.

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A Few Terms
Hearing: The physical act [ear]
Listening: The perception [brain]
Audiology: The science of.....

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Physiology of the Ear

The 3 Sections

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1. Outer
2. Middle
3. Inner

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Outer Ear

Pinna:
Enhances high FQ sounds.
Helps with location.

Auditory canal

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Canal resonates @ 1k-5k

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Ear Drum Reacts to Loudness

+75 dB
12 - 14 dB of Protection*

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Middle Ear

Acts
as
a
limiting
protection
device
for
transients

Three-bone lever acts as an amplifier (15:1)

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Cochlea

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4 Main Points
1. Fluid-filled chamber with hairs that trigger nerves.
2. Groups of hairs respond to different frequencies.
3. Some hairs are stiffer than others = Loudness.
4. High frequency hairs are first.

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Sense of Balance

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Human Frequency Perception:

20hz - 20khz

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Terms to Know

Pinna

Ear
Canal

Outer, Middle, Inner Ear

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Cochlea

Tympanic Membrane

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Loudness Perception

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How we Physically hear loudness

Physical:
Some hairs are stiffer than others.
The louder sounds are the more
hairs fire.
Psychoacoustic:
Loud sounds are felt all through our
body.
Louder sounds have different
Timbres
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Just Noticeable Difference for Sound:

1 dB SPL
Between 20 dB SPL - 100 dB SPL.
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Loudness Test

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Loudness Test
0 dB

Reference

+3 dB

double of intensity

+6 dB

double pressure

+10 dB double of loudness

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Our Ear does not hear evenly...

...and, it changes with loudness

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Loudness affects pitch perception

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Why?

Ear
is
sensitive
between
1
and
5
kHz

Partially due to the resonances of the outer ear

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Equal Loudness Study

Fletcher-Munson / Robinson-Dadson

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Tones at different frequencies played at the same voltage.

Tones were then increased, and experiment repeated.

Participants asked to make sounds at different frequencies sound

the same level to each other.

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Equal Loudness Contours of Hearing

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Equal Loudness Contours of Hearing

Low

High

Flipped &
Inverted
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Conclusions

We
hear
1-5k
very
well.

As
sound
gets
louder,
response
becomes
more
even.

We dont hear low frequencies well.

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What could be a
reason woofers are
so large?

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What does the Loud or

Brilliance button do?

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Mixing at different levels

changes balance.

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Rumble & Hiss in recordings may

trigger/offset meters or effects

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Direction

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Direction is determined by...

Time
Intensity
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Intensity Difference
Louder in One Ear
Middle to high FQ
Head is a baffle
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Time Difference
Arrives at one ear first
Middle to high FQ
Pinna crucial

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Hearing Distance
Cues include:

High frequency loss in air, spectrum breakup

Direct to reverberant sound
Sources
produce
different
tones
played
loud
or
soft.

Ground
reflection.

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More...

Easier to judge depth in a room vs. outside.

if
we
cant
see
it,
it
must
be
behind
us

We know jets fly above.

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Psychoacoustics

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Beats

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Two tones of same amplitude that differ slightly in frequency

A result of the ears inability to separate closely pitched notes

Produce repetitive volume surges, equal in frequency to difference

in the two tones

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Beat audio sample

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Combination Tone

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Result from two loud tones that differ by at least 50 Hz

2500 Hz - 2000 Hz = 500 Hz difference tone

Ear produces an additional set of tones equal to sum and difference

between original tones

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Masking

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Loud signals prevent the ear from hearing softer sounds.

EQ and stereo placement can make instrument sound different

enough to overcome masking effects.

Instruments can be hidden or changed in character by louder

instruments with similar timbre.

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Haas Effect | Precedence Effect

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When Two duplicate sounds with only varying distances, the one
arriving first is perceived as first.

Delayed sound is +10-15dB louder, perceived as closer.

If under 1ms, perceived as comb filtering.

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+30 milliseconds is an echo.

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Pitch Changes with Loudness

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If Onset and Offset of

instrument note
removed...
...People less likely to
know trumpet from
violin.
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More ear tricks:

http://philomel.com/musical_illusions/

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Silence drives us crazy

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dtZNjzeShYw
Note the studies in the comments.

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Hearing Protection

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Hearing Loss Example

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We live in a noisy world

Only 2 centuries ago there were no speakers, cars, planes, TV, power tools....

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Threshold Shift
Reversible desensitization from loud sounds.
1. Protective reaction from ear drum muscles.
2. Cochlea Hairs temporarily bent over.

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Tinnitus

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Ringing of the Cochlea, high pitch.

A one-time exposure.
Usually reversible to some degree.

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Age
20 year olds = 16 kHz
Retirees
=
8
kHz

More loss for Men than Women.

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Permanent Hearing Loss

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Hairs bend over from loud sounds, and do not recover.

Loss of sensitivity by FREQUENCY.
4k, and upper bands first. Things sound muddy
Exposure over several, several years

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Undamanged

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Damanged

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You all have hearing loss.

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Hearing Protection

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Headphones are capable of producing loud levels.

Threshold shift => continual volume increases. BAD
Custom Earplugs. SpeechAndHearing.unt.edu

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Hearing Damage

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END

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