Modelling the effect of individual hearing impairment on sound localisation in sagittal planes

Authors

  • Robert Baumgartner Acoustics Research Institute, Austrian Academy of Sciences, Austria
  • Piotr Majdak Acoustics Research Institute, Austrian Academy of Sciences, Austria
  • Bernhard Laback Acoustics Research Institute, Austrian Academy of Sciences, Austria

Abstract

Normal-hearing (NH) listeners use monaural spectral cues to localize sound sources in sagittal planes, including up-down and front-back directions. The salience of monaural spectral cues is determined by the spectral resolution and the dynamic range of the auditory system. Both factors are commonly degraded in impaired auditory systems. In order to simulate the effects of outer hair cell (OHC) dysfunction and loss of auditory nerve (AN) fibres on localisation performance, we incorporated a well-established model of the auditory periphery [Zilany et al., 2014, J. Acoust. Soc. Am. 135] into a recent model of sound localisation in sagittal planes [Baumgartner et al., 2014, J. Acoust. Soc. Am. 136]. The model was evaluated for NH listeners and then applied on conditions simulating various degrees of OHC dysfunction. The predicted localisation performance is hardly affected by a moderate OHC dysfunction but drastically degrades in case of a severe OHC dysfunction. When further applied on conditions simulating loss of AN fibres with specific spontaneous rates (SRs), predicted localisation performance degrades if only high-SR fibres are preserved.

References

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Published

2015-12-15

How to Cite

Baumgartner, R., Majdak, P., & Laback, B. (2015). Modelling the effect of individual hearing impairment on sound localisation in sagittal planes. Proceedings of the International Symposium on Auditory and Audiological Research, 5, 165–172. Retrieved from https://proceedings.isaar.eu/index.php/isaarproc/article/view/2015-19

Issue

Vol. 5 (2015): Individual Hearing Loss - Characterization, modelling, compensation strategies

Section

2015/3. Modelling individual hearing impairment

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