With normal hearing, humans use both ears to locate sound in their environment with auditory cues. Studies have shown that people with single-sided deafness (SSD), or loss of hearing in one ear, can detect the location of sound by hearing the various volume levels or noticing a different arrival time of sounds to one ear over the other.
Researchers from the Japan Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (JAIST) and Toyama Prefectural University proposed a state-of-the-art process that estimates the direction-of-arrival (DOA) of sound signals in three dimensions. Applied Acoustics published this study. In it, they reveal the system utilizes monaural cues to estimate DOA and can aid in simplifying microphone designs. The average human can detect environmental sounds with both ears while deciphering auditory cues. Individuals with monaural hearing or SSD can distinguish the location of sounds by hearing how loud or how soft a sound is, in addition to the arrival time of sounds at each ear. Conducting This Study These researchers simulated sound signals using synthetic modulation noise and human speech signals from various directions while taking into account how the ears, torso, and head separated sounds. They collected the monaural modulation spectrum (MMS) of signals and gave a description of their frequencies to recognize important features related to DOA. Their model could correctly estimate the DOA for 829,440 speech signals, which surpassed human monaural hearing. The research needs more testing to take background noise and unique ear shapes into account when making the model. This study can lead to progress in sound surveillance techniques and hearing aid technology. If you or a loved one are experiencing hearing loss, get in touch with Pure Sound Hearing for a complimentary hearing test and consultation. Comments are closed.
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