The inherent attenuation of a homogeneous viscous medium limits radiation propagation, thereby restricting the use of many high-frequency acoustic devices to only short-range applications. Here, we design and experimentally demonstrate an acoustic metamaterial localization cavity which is used for sound pressure level (SPL) gain using double coiled up space like structures thereby increasing th...

Vocal effort is a physiological magnitude that accounts for the changes in voice production that occur as vocal loading, which is the stress inflicted on the vocal folds when speaking for long periods, increases. It has been quantified in terms of Sound Pressure Level (SPL). In previous research, it has been shown that prolonged vocal effort can lead to vocal fatigue. An experiment was conducte...

Two masking experiments were conducted to behaviorally estimate auditory-filter phase curvatures at different stimulus levels. Maskers were harmonic complexes consisting of equal-amplitude tones and phase spectra with varied curvatures. In Experiment 1, sinusoidal signal thresholds were measured at 2 and 4 kHz at fixed masker levels ranging from 50 to 90 dB sound pressure level (SPL). In Experi...

It has been claimed that intense acoustic stimulation, using "white sound", can reduce or eliminate pain. The effect of white sound on visceral pain produced by contraction of ischaemic muscle has therefore been investigated. Pain threshold estimations were made under the following conditions: (A) control; (B) music alone at comfortable listening level; (C) white sound of moderate intensity (90...

OBJECTIVES New signal processing technologies have recently become available for Baha® sound processors. These technologies have led to an increase in power and to the implementation of directional microphones. For any new technology, it is important to evaluate the degree of benefit under different listening situations. METHODS Twenty wearers of the Baha osseointegrated hearing system partic...

Speaker age is a speaker characteristic which is always present in speech. Previous studies have found numerous acoustic features which correlate with speaker age. However, few attempts have been made to establish their relative importance. This study automatically extracted 161 acoustic features from six words produced by 527 speakers of both genders, and used normalised means to directly comp...

The excitatory effect of different test stimuli was quantified in a large sample of primary auditory units of the starling. In order to construct an excitation pattern, the level of excitation in many single units in response to a specific test stimulus was plotted as a function of their characteristic frequency (CF). The effects of stimulus frequency and stimulus sound-pressure level on the sh...

The complaint from hearing aid wearers of hollowness in the sound of their voice is typically associated with excessive low-frequency sound pressure level (SPL) in the ear canal. Increasing the vent diameter and/or reducing the gain in the low frequency would typically minimize this complaint. This paper reports on a case where the origin of hollowness was insufficient low-frequency gain compar...

Jumping spiders (Salticidae) are famous for their visually driven behaviors [1]. Here, however, we present behavioral and neurophysiological evidence that these animals also perceive and respond to airborne acoustic stimuli, even when the distance between the animal and the sound source is relatively large (∼3 m) and with stimulus amplitudes at the position of the spider of ∼65 dB sound pressur...

Behavioral audiograms and sound localization abilities were determined for three alpacas (Vicugna pacos). Their hearing at a level of 60 dB sound pressure level (SPL) (re 20 μPa) extended from 40 Hz to 32.8 kHz, a range of 9.7 octaves. They were most sensitive at 8 kHz, with an average threshold of -0.5 dB SPL. The minimum audible angle around the midline for 100-ms broadband noise was 23°, ind...