Harmonicity aids hearing in noise
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13414_2021_2376_ReferencePDF.pdf
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5.37 MB
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Author(s)
McPherson, Malinda J.
Grace, River C.
McDermott, Josh H.
Date Issued
January 31, 2022
Publisher
Springer US
Citation
McPherson, Malinda J., Grace, River C. and McDermott, Josh H. 2022. "Harmonicity aids hearing in noise."
Version
Author's final manuscript
Abstract
Abstract
Hearing in noise is a core problem in audition, and a challenge for hearing-impaired listeners, yet the underlying mechanisms are poorly understood. We explored whether harmonic frequency relations, a signature property of many communication sounds, aid hearing in noise for normal hearing listeners. We measured detection thresholds in noise for tones and speech synthesized to have harmonic or inharmonic spectra. Harmonic signals were consistently easier to detect than otherwise identical inharmonic signals. Harmonicity also improved discrimination of sounds in noise. The largest benefits were observed for two-note up-down “pitch” discrimination and melodic contour discrimination, both of which could be performed equally well with harmonic and inharmonic tones in quiet, but which showed large harmonic advantages in noise. The results show that harmonicity facilitates hearing in noise, plausibly by providing a noise-robust pitch cue that aids detection and discrimination.
MIT Department
Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences
McGovern Institute for Brain Research at MIT
Center for Brains, Minds, and Machines
Terms of Use
Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike
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DOI of Published Version
https://doi.org/10.3758/s13414-021-02376-0
