Combination of binaural and harmonic masking release effects in the detection of a single component in complex tones

TL;DR

This study investigates how harmonic and binaural cues combine to affect the detection of a tone in complex masking conditions, revealing interactions between these cues and the limitations of binaural processing.

Contribution

It provides new insights into the combined effects of harmonic mistuning and binaural phase differences on auditory detection thresholds, supported by experimental data and modeling.

Findings

Binaural phase differences facilitate masking release in most conditions.

Mistuning causes significant masking release only in diotic, narrowband conditions.

Across-frequency processing influences modulation cue interpretation in complex tones.

Abstract

Both harmonic and binaural signal properties are relevant for auditory processing. To investigate how these cues combine in the auditory system, detection thresholds for an 800-Hz tone masked by a diotic (i.e., identical between the ears) harmonic complex tone were measured in six normal-hearing subjects. The target tone was presented either diotically or with an interaural phase difference (IPD) of 180 degree and in either harmonic or "mistuned" relationship to the diotic masker. Three different maskers were used, a resolved and an unresolved complex tone (fundamental frequency: 160 and 40 Hz) with four components below and above the target frequency and a broadband unresolved complex tone with 12 additional components. The target IPD provided release from masking in most masker conditions, whereas mistuning led to a significant release from masking only in the diotic conditions with the resolved and the narrowband unresolved maskers. A significant effect of mistuning was neither found in the diotic condition with the wideband unresolved masker nor in any of the dichotic conditions. An auditory model with a single analysis frequency band and different binaural processing schemes was employed to predict the data of the unresolved masker conditions. Sensitivity to modulation cues was achieved by including an auditory-motivated modulation filter in the processing pathway. The predictions of the diotic data were in line with the experimental results and literature data in the narrowband condition, but not in the broadband condition, suggesting that across-frequency processing is involved in processing modulation information. The experimental and model results in the dichotic conditions show that the binaural processor cannot exploit modulation information in binaurally unmasked conditions.