Question

Describe the 3-dimensional coordinate system used to study and study and describe sound localization.

Answer 1

Sound localization refers to the extent to which an organism has a well-developed spatial-hearing ‘map’, that is the ability to perceive and mentally represent the direction of the source of the sounds relative to one’s own orientation in space. This ability has been studied in adult listeners to throw light on the magnitude Andy nature or hearing impairments, by exploring the extent to which listeners can either identify the exact position of a sound or discriminate changes in the location of sounds along a gradient.

Localization is found to rely mainly on binaural cues and it is most commonly measured using auditory stimuli which are presented on a three-dimensional perspective such as by involving visual and spatial dimensions in addition to the presence of sounds. Scientists usually apply two measures: ILD and ITD to measure sound localization. Interaural level differences (ILDs) arise because of the attenuation of sound with distance found to be particularly prominent at high frequency sound waves. Interaural time differences (ITDs) arise because of the difference in the time at which sounds outside the median plane arrive at one ear before the other. Such measures therefore help to understand the magnitude of hearing impairment or hearing loss as well as gage the level of corticol damage to the auditory areas of the brain.

For instance, using these measures, Hawkins and Wightman (1980) found that listeners with sensorineural hearing loss were poorer at ITD discrimination than ILD discrimination for narrow-band sounds at both low and high frequencies. Furthermore, some recent studies have found that ITD discrimination is poorer for listeners with a cochlear hearing loss than listeners with normal hearing.