How We Localize Sound

NOV 01, 1999

Relying on a variety of cues, including intensity, timing, and spectrum, our brains recreate a three‐dimensional image of the acoustic landscape from the sounds we hear.

DOI: 10.1063/1.882727

William M. Hartmann

For as long as we humans have lived on Earth, we have been able to use our ears to localize the sources of sounds. Our ability to localize warns us of danger and helps us sort out individual sounds from the usual cacophony of our acoustical world. Characterizing this ability in humans and other animals makes an intriguing physical, physiological, and psychological study (see figure 1).

References

1. J. W. Strutt (Lord Rayleigh), Phil. Mag. 3, 456 (1877).
2. W. A. Yost, J. Acoust. Soc. Am. 70, 397 (1981).https://doi.org/JASMAN
3. J. W. Strutt (Lord Rayleigh), Phil. Mag. 13, 214 (1907).https://doi.org/PHMAA4
4. G. F. Kuhn, J. Acoust. Soc. Am. 62, 157 (1977).https://doi.org/JASMAN
5. J. Blauert, Spatial Hearing, 2nd ed., J. S. Allen, trans., MIT Press, Cambridge, Mass. (1997).
6. F. L. Wightman, D. J. Kistler, J. Acoust. Soc. Am. 105, 2841 (1999).https://doi.org/JASMAN
7. N. I. Durlach, H. S. Colburn, in Handbook of Perception, vol. 4, E. Carterette, M. P. Friedman, eds., Academic, New York (1978).
8. W. M. Hartmann, A. T. Wittenberg, J. Acoust. Soc. Am. 99, 3678 (1996).https://doi.org/JASMAN
9. R. Y. Litovsky, B. Rakerd, T. C. T. Yin, W. M. Hartmann, J. Neurophysiol. 77, 2223 (1997).https://doi.org/JONEA4
10. L. A. Jeffress, J. Comp. Physiol. Psychol. 41, 35 (1948).https://doi.org/JCPPAV
11. R. M. Stern, H. S. Colburn, J. Acoust. Soc. Am. 64, 127 (1978).https://doi.org/JASMAN
12. T. C. T. Yin, J. C. K. Chan, J. Neurophysiol. 64, 465 (1990).https://doi.org/JONEA4

More about the Authors

William M. Hartmann. Michigan State University, East Lansing Michigan.