Interaural level differences and the level-meter model

The interaural level difference (ILD) plays a significant role in sound localization. However, the definition of ILD for noise is open to some interpretation because it is not obvious how to deal with the inevitable level fluctuations. In this article, the ILD is interpreted as an energylike (time-integrated) measure of stimulus level, independent of other stimulus details-particularly interaural correlation. This concept is called the "level-meter model." The model was tested by measuring human ILD thresholds for noise stimuli that were interaurally correlated, or anticorrelated, or uncorrelated. An additional test (not involving lateralization) measured the threshold for level discrimination based on loudness. According to the level-meter model, all four thresholds should be the same. The experimental results showed that the predictions of the level-meter model held good to within about half a dB, although thresholds for level discrimination were systematically higher than ILDs. Among the ILDs themselves, thresholds were slightly higher for uncorrelated noise. The latter result could be explained by replacing the level-meter model with a loudness-meter model, incorporating temporal integration. The same model accounted for the bandwidth dependence of the threshold. (C) 2002 Acoustical Society of America.