Modelling shows 52 percent loudness drop at occluded ear is inadequate alone

Evidence

Despite presentation of stimuli from one side, the difference in predicted loudness at each unoccluded ear differed by only 4 %. The interaural level difference was small due to the room reverberation. When the left ear was occluded, the predicted loudness at this ear fell by 52 %. Older models assume that binaural loudness is the sum of that for each ear, but more recent models predict less binaural summation by invoking an inhibitory mechanism (Moore and Glasberg 2007 ). In either case, attenuation caused by meatal occlusion leading to a 52 % drop at one ear seems more than adequate to observe a strong summation effect. — Dijk, Pim van, Physiology, Psychoacoustics and…, 1525

Categorization

• DEFINE: Distinguishes older additive binaural loudness models from newer inhibitory models.