Binaural loudness exceeds monaural loudness, more so for soft than loud sounds

Evidence

When the same sound is presented to both ears, it is perceived to be louder than when it is presented to one ear only (Fletcher and Munson 1933 ). As a result, the loudness of diotically and monaurally presented stimuli, usually tones or noise, has been found to be equivalent when the monaural stimulus is between 3 and 10 dB more intense (Fletcher and Munson 1933 ; Reynolds and Stevens 1960 ; Zwicker and Zwicker 1991 ; Sivonen and Ellermeier 2006 ; Whilby et al. 2006 ; Edmonds and Culling 2009 ). — Dijk, Pim van, Physiology, Psychoacoustics and…, 1527 (#corroborates, via linked claim)

The lack of summation in the Loudspeaker condition supports the observations made by Cox and Gray ( 2001 ) and by Epstein and Florentine ( 2009 , 2012 ), that, when monaural presentation is achieved by occluding one ear in a sound field, binaural summation can be dramatically reduced. … The lack of summation could have two logical causes. First, there may be some residual sound energy at the occluded ear that is sufficient to maintain its contribution to binaural loudness. Second, there may be some cognitive element which generates loudness constancy through the knowledge that one ear is occluded. — Dijk, Pim van, Physiology, Psychoacoustics and…, 1544 (#expands, via linked claim)

Categorization

• corroborated: 2 independent passages support this claim
• XREF: connects to: Binaural sound is judged louder than the same sound heard monaurally — Dijk, Pim van, Physiology, Psychoacoustics and…, 1527; Occluding one ear in a sound field dramatically reduces binaural loudness summation — Dijk, Pim van, Physiology, Psychoacoustics and…, 1544

Related

• Binaural sound is judged louder than the same sound heard monaurally (similarity 0.96)
• Binaural loudness summation shrinks dramatically when one ear is occluded in a sound field. (similarity 0.92)
• Occluding one ear in a sound field dramatically reduces binaural loudness summation (similarity 0.91)
• Meatal occlusion dropping one ear’s loudness 52 percent should still produce measurable summation (similarity 0.91)
• Binaural loudness summation levels depend strongly on how monaural presentation is achieved. (similarity 0.90)
• A finger in the ear enables rapid 2-interval monaural-binaural loudness comparison (similarity 0.90)
• Occlusion-based monaural hearing dramatically reduces binaural loudness summation. (similarity 0.89)
• Binaural loudness may exhibit constancy across conditions (similarity 0.88)
• Binaural loudness constancy operates independently of stimulus type (similarity 0.88)
• A finger-tap ear occlusion enables rapid loudness matching within single trials (similarity 0.88)
• Sounds presented to both ears are perceived louder than to one ear (similarity 0.88)
• Binaural loudness summation is not a simple sum of the two ears. (similarity 0.88)
• How binaural loudness summation is measured changes the measured effect by several dB (similarity 0.87)
• Binaural loudness constancy depends on residual low-frequency cues and knowledge of ear occlusion (similarity 0.87)
• Loss of externalisation when one earphone is deactivated may boost apparent loudness summation (similarity 0.87)

Broader Connections

• Binaural sound is judged louder than the same sound heard monaurally #corroborates (0.95) — Dijk, Pim van, Physiology, Psychoacoustics and…, 1527
• Occluding one ear in a sound field dramatically reduces binaural loudness summation #expands (0.85) — Dijk, Pim van, Physiology, Psychoacoustics and…, 1544