Auditory model-based estimation of the effect of head-worn devices on frontal horizontal localisation

Auditory localisation accuracy may be degraded when a head-worn device (HWD), such as a helmet or hearing protector, is used. A computational method is proposed in this study for estimating how horizontal plane localisation is impaired by a HWD through distortions of interaural cues. Head-related impulse responses (HRIRs) of different HWDs were measured with a KEMAR and a binaural auditory model was used to compute interaural cues from HRIR-convolved noise bursts. A shallow neural network (NN) was trained with data from a subjective listening experiment, where horizontal plane localisation was assessed while wearing different HWDs. Interaural cues were used as features to estimate perceived direction and position uncertainty (standard deviation) of a sound source in the horizontal plane with the NN. The NN predicted the position uncertainty of localisation among subjects for a given HWD with an average estimation error of 1 degrees. The obtained results suggest that it is possible to predict the degradation of localisation ability for specific HWDs in the frontal horizontal plane using the method.

Automated summary

This study proposes a computational method to estimate the effect of head-worn devices on horizontal plane localisation through distortion of interaural cues. Head-related impulse responses were measured and a binaural auditory model was used to compute interaural cues. A shallow neural network was trained to predict the perceived direction and position uncertainty of a sound source. The results suggest that the method can predict the degradation of localisation ability for specific head-worn devices in the frontal horizontal plane.