The outer ear’s resonant shapes enable front-back sound localization

Evidence

Sound localization is helped mainly by the acoustic effect of the pinna and the concha. The concha acts as an acoustic resonant cavity. The combined acoustic effects of the pinna and concha are particularly useful for determining whether a sound source is in front or behind and, to a lesser extent, whether it is above or below. — David M. Howard, Jamie Angus, Acoustics and Psychoacoustics, 518

Categorization

Category: Causal Relationships

• DEFINE: Explains the pinna and concha’s role as acoustic resonant cavities, a core psycho-acoustic term.

Related

• Front and back sound localization requires other mechanisms than ITD (similarity 0.91)
• The concha, acting as a resonant cavity, enables front-behind localization (similarity 0.90)
• Pinna and concha resonance determine front-behind sound localization (similarity 0.89)
• Pinna asymmetry creates front-back and elevation cues for directional hearing. (similarity 0.87)
• Pinna, head, and torso shapes encode spatial direction into ear-canal sounds (similarity 0.85)
• Individual pinnae shapes make spatial hearing uniquely personal and learned (similarity 0.85)
• The outer ear’s resonant cavities enable elevation perception where other cues fail (similarity 0.85)
• Pinnae shape the sound spectrum to encode elevation and front-back position (similarity 0.84)
• The pinna’s folded shape encodes sound direction as spectral echoes (similarity 0.84)
• Each person’s directional hearing cues are learned and specific to their own ears (similarity 0.84)
• Each person’s directional hearing is calibrated to their own ear shape (similarity 0.83)
• Head movement and pinna shape resolve cone-of-confusion ambiguities (similarity 0.82)
• Adults relearn spatial localization within six weeks of altered pinnae (similarity 0.82)
• Pinna shape creates learned, person-specific comb filters that aid sound localization (similarity 0.82)
• Head and pinna scattering imprint direction-dependent spectral notches onto the ear signal. (similarity 0.82)

Broader Connections

• Sound localization from pinna cues is learned and specific to each person’s ear shape. #expands (0.95) — David M. Howard, Jamie Angus, Acoustics and Psychoacoustics, 732
• Individual pinnae shapes make spatial hearing uniquely personal and learned #expands (0.90) — David M. Howard, Jamie Angus, Acoustics and Psychoacoustics, 736
• Localization improves as we learn our own ears’ direction cues through experience #expands (0.85) — David Howard, Jamie Angus, coustics and Psychoacoustics, 729
• The physical structure of the ear itself shapes and constructs perceived sound #epitomizes (0.80) — George Michelsen Foy, Zero Decibels, 561
• Head shading creates interaural level differences used for sound localization #expands (0.72) — David Howard, Jamie Angus, coustics and Psychoacoustics, 721