Abstract
Introduction Previous studies found that approaching sounds are perceived to stop closer to participants than receding sounds (with the same end position). This effect is called the auditory looming bias. However, most studies asked participants for ratings of change in loudness and not for actual distance estimations of moving sounds. Additionally, most studies didn’t compare moving sounds to static sounds and there are no studies on the auditory looming bias in visually impaired individuals.
Aims Our aim was to compare distance estimations for moving and static sounds.
Methods To investigate how moving sounds are perceived, we generated virtual sounds (1-kHz pure tone and white noise) that approach and recede from the participants or are static at different distances in an anechoic room. The sounds were simulated to move 11m at three different distances (near, medium, and far away). 14 participants were asked to listen to the sounds and estimate their start and end distance, they were also asked to rate the change in loudness of the moving sounds.
Results First preliminary results indicate that moving sounds are perceived to end further away from the participants compared to static sounds at the same distance. There also seems to be no auditory looming bias when participants were asked for distance estimations.
Conclusion Our results show that there might be a difference in accuracy of distance estimations for moving compared to static sounds. Additionally, we want to investigate the auditory looming bias in visually impaired participants and compare their distance estimations to those of age-matched normally sighted participants.
