Binaural loudness constancy depends on residual low-frequency cues and knowledge of ear occlusion

Evidence

Experiment 1 demonstrated for the first time that binaural loudness constancy can be observed in a loudness matching task using direct comparisons of loudness between an occluded and unoccluded second ear. Experiment 2 showed that this effect could be partially mediated by the residual sound at the occluded ear, but the remaining effect would seem attributable to the listeners’ awareness of the occlusion. — Dijk, Pim van, Physiology, Psychoacoustics and…, 1562

Near perfect binaural loudness constancy was observed using loudspeaker presentation, while there was a summation effect of 3–6 dB for both headphone conditions. However, only partial constancy was observed when meatal occlusion was simulated. These results suggest that there may be contributions to binaural loudness constancy from residual low frequencies at the occluded ear as well as a cognitive element, which is activated by the knowledge that one ear is occluded. — Dijk, Pim van, Physiology, Psychoacoustics and…, 1522

Categorization

• XREF: Connects sensory constancy phenomena (like visual size/color constancy) to auditory processing — the listener’s knowledge of occlusion overriding the physical summation signal. — connects to: Low-frequency residual sound may contribute disproportionately to binaural loudness; Binaural loudness constancy is partly physical and partly cognitive in origin; After accounting for residual sound, cochlear-occlusion awareness still sustains loudness constancy (+6 more)
• DEEPTHINKING: The claim that a cognitive element, activated by mere knowledge of occlusion, can null a 3-6 dB perceptual summation effect is striking — cognition reaching down to reshape what would naively seem like a hard-wired peripheral summation.
• corroborated: 6 independent passages support this claim — Dijk, Pim van, Physiology, Psychoacoustics and…, 1562; Dijk, Pim van, Physiology, Psychoacoustics and…, 1522

Broader Connections

• Residual sound at an occluded ear mediates part of loudness constancy #corroborates (0.95)
• After accounting for residual sound, cochlear-occlusion awareness still sustains loudness constancy #corroborates (0.92)
• Binaural loudness constancy is partly physical and partly cognitive in origin #qualifies (0.85)
• Low-frequency residual sound may contribute disproportionately to binaural loudness #corroborates (0.82)
• Loudness perception involves central mechanisms beyond cochlear vibration #expands (0.78)
• Occluding one ear in a sound field dramatically reduces binaural loudness summation #qualifies (0.75) — Dijk, Pim van, Physiology, Psychoacoustics and…, 1544