Application of binaural hearing system for assessment of environmental noise impact

Abstract

In the present work an experimental system is presented that allows one to investigate physical principles of binaural hearing and identification of sound sources. It is checked that at low frequencies interaural time difference (whereas at high frequencies the interaural level difference) cue is preferable for recognizing location of sound sources. At intermediate frequencies human auditory system uses both processes for binaural hearing. Also the effect of traffic noise on binaural hearing is investigated. It is shown that environmental noises consist mainly of low frequency spectral components. Therefore noise is considered to have influence on binaural cues which human auditory system uses for spatial sound localization at low frequencies, i. e. the interaural time difference.
Keywords: auditory localization, binaural hearing, environmental noise
PACS: 43.66.Pn, 43.50.Rq, 43.66.Qp