# Spatial hearing in complex sound fields

> **NIH NIH R01** · UNIVERSITY OF MASSACHUSETTS AMHERST · 2022 · $407,836

## Abstract

SUMMARY
Sound localization is a fundamental auditory ability that is facilitated by differences in the sound reaching each
ear. Localization is important for safety and for auditory awareness in natural 3D environments. Binaural
hearing also supports spatial release from masking, where detection and recognition are improved by spatially
separating the primary source – the target – and interfering sources – the masker. Spatial release from
masking is critical for speech recognition in noisy backgrounds, especially when the background contains
competing speech. What we do not understand yet is the relationship between these two phenomena of
binaural hearing – localization and spatial release from masking. The studies in this project ask whether sound
localization and spatial release from masking arise from the same binaural mechanisms but are otherwise not
closely related, or whether sound localization is the basis of spatial release from masking, particularly in
situations were targets and maskers are highly confusable with one another. It is an important question,
because listener complaints about hearing difficulties in noise might well be due to poor sound localization,
although this is not evaluated in clinical practice. While there have been hints of a causal relationship in the
literature, the question is a difficult one to answer and the field has not come to a consensus. This three-year
project will be the first that we are aware of to singularly and comprehensively focus on the relationship
between sound localization and spatial release from masking, using rigorous psychoacoustic methods with
recently developed signal processing tools and stimuli that dissociate binaural difference cues and perceived
intracranial location. The findings will help us make sense of the conflicting literature that has been difficult to
interpret, and will move the field toward theoretical and practical advances that will help inform professional
management of hearing loss and its consequences for listening in noise.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10443316
- **Project number:** 2R01DC001625-25A1
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF MASSACHUSETTS AMHERST
- **Principal Investigator:** Richard L Freyman
- **Activity code:** R01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2022
- **Award amount:** $407,836
- **Award type:** 2
- **Project period:** 1992-07-01 → 2025-01-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10443316

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10443316, Spatial hearing in complex sound fields (2R01DC001625-25A1). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-24 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10443316. Licensed CC0.

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