Open AccessDetection Thresholds for Combined Infrasound and Audio-Frequency Stimuli
Author(s) -
Elisa Burke,
Johannes Hensel,
Thomas Fedtke,
Stefan Uppenkamp,
Christian Koch
Publication year - 2019
Publication title -
acta acustica united with acustica
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.283
H-Index - 57
eISSN - 1610-1928
pISSN - 1861-9959
DOI - 10.3813/aaa.919394
Subject(s) - infrasound , quiet , acoustics , monaural , detection threshold , noise (video) , stimulus (psychology) , audiology , physics , computer science , psychology , artificial intelligence , medicine , quantum mechanics , real time computing , image (mathematics) , psychotherapist
This study investigated whether the presence of audio sound (20 Hz < frequency f < 20 kHz) influences the detection threshold for infrasound ( f < 20 Hz), and, vice versa, whether the presence of infrasound influences the detection threshold for audio sound. Monaural detection thresholds of thirteen otologically normal listeners were repeatedly determined for infrasound stimuli (sinusoids at 5 Hz and at 12 Hz) and for audio sound stimuli (sinusoids and bandlimited pink noise), separately and in presence of the respective other sound type. The measurements were performed with an adaptive 1-up-2-down 3-alternative forced-choice (3-AFC) procedure. Threshold levels for infrasound stimuli were not affected by audio sound at +5 dB sensation level (SL), but they were significantly increased by the presence of some of the audio sound stimuli presented at +50 dB SL. For example, thresholds for the detection of infrasound increased on average by around 5 dB when simultaneously presented with a pink-noise stimulus (frequency range: 250 Hz– 4000 Hz). On the other hand, the presence of infrasound with levels up to +10 dB SL did not cause any significant change in the detection thresholds for audio sound. This could be an indication that infrasound might even be more annoying in a quiet environment.