Spectral-cue adaptation in hearing requires visible sound sources as a reference

Evidence

The results show that the accuracy of perception of elevation degrades in directions outside the field of vision. This is in line with the fact that subjects continuously adapt to their spectral cues, as discussed in Section 12.3.4. The result also suggests that adaptation can occur only if the sources are visible. Using vision as the reference for adaptation of directional hearing is a viable option, as vision is the most accurate method to measure the direction of a sound source for adaptation. — Ville Pulkki, Matti Karjalainen, Communication Acoustics- An…, 1482

Categorization

• QUESTION: If adaptation requires visible sources, what happens to blind listeners’ elevation accuracy, and can touch substitute?