Sensitivity to a break in interaural correlation is co-modulated by intensity level and interaural delay

Abstract

This study investigated whether sound intensity affects listeners’ sensitivity to a break in interaural correlation (BIC) embedded in wideband noise at different interaural delays. The results show that the detection duration threshold remained stable at the intensity between 60 and 70 dB SPL, but increased in accelerating fashion as the intensity decreased toward 40 dB SPL. Moreover, the threshold elevated linearly as the interaural delay increased from 0 to 4 ms, and the elevation slope became larger as the intensity decreased from 50 to 40 dB SPL. Thus, detecting the BIC is co-modulated by both intensity and interaural delay.