Level differences at typical MAAs fall below the 1-2 dB just-noticeable difference

Evidence

To quantify whether the level cue was large enough for the test subjects to take advantage of it, the rms-levels were calculated for the three different cue sets. Unfortunately, the specific hearing loss of a specific test subject, and the frequency range one includes in the analysis, very much affects the rms difference between different incidence angles, making it difficult to make conclusions. However, at large angular differences it was clearly observed that the level cue becomes prominent, whereas the level cue decreased with decreasing incidence angle. At average MAAs (< 35° for HI) level-cue magnitudes (< approximately 1 dB) were found to be smaller than the level just-noticeable-differences for HI test subjects reported to be 1–2 dB (Moore 2003 ). This indicates that most subjects likely used the frequency-shaping cue rather than the level cue. — Dijk, Pim van, Physiology, Psychoacoustics and…, 3052

Categorization

• XREF: Level-cue magnitude below JND isolates frequency-shaping as the effective discrimination cue — connects to level discrimination acuity data in Moore’s Psychology of Hearing.