HESP Seminar: Richard Freyman (UMass Amherst)

Title: Exploring the Relationship Between Sound Localization and Spatial Release from Masking

Abstract: Spatial unmasking and sound localization are assumed to share common mechanisms, but it is still unclear whether any aspect of spatial release from masking actually depends on localization.  One possible indication that there is a causal relationship between the two phenomena for some conditions comes from the observation that spatial masking release can often remain strong even when known cues for spatial unmasking are dramatically weakened by acoustic reflections in rooms.  With the aid of the precedence effect, separate localization of targets and maskers in those same reverberant environments is largely preserved, leading to the suspicion that localization is responsible for the spatial release that remains in the face of the diminished cues.  However, there are also arguments against a causal relationship.  This talk will review what is known about this question from previously published work, and will also discuss newer unpublished research on this topic, focusing on listeners with asymmetric hearing loss.   The literature demonstrates that people with such losses adapt to their asymmetries with respect to localization, at least to some degree, but whether this adaptation helps restore spatial release from masking is not yet obvious.