Gregory Ellis of University of Louisville will be presenting as part of the HESP Seminar Series.

Title: The effect of listening condition on reverberation perception in normal hearing and hearing-impaired individuals

Abstract: Whether sitting in a classroom or in a concert hall, we are constantly surrounded by reverberation. In a series of experiments using a variety of psychoacoustic techniques, I explore how normal hearing and hearing-impaired listeners perceive reverberation. First, using both magnitude estimation and multidimensional scaling techniques, I examine the effects that different listening conditions have on perceived reverberation strength. Here, listening conditions include various combinations of monaural and binaural reverberation information simulated using virtual auditory space techniques. The use of novel virtual listening conditions not possible in real space allows improved insight into the mechanisms underlying perceived reverberation. Further studies using similar techniques demonstrate that the reverberant tail of a stimulus is not necessary to make judgments about reverberation strength. Finally, I examine the similarities and differences between normal hearing and hearing-impaired reverberation perception. By studying reverberation perception in both normal hearing and hearing-impaired listeners using a variety of techniques, my work seeks a deeper understanding of reverberation perception on a basic level.