Sound lateralization compared between air-conduction and bone-conduction headphones: A pilot study

Komkris P, Park M. Sound lateralization compared between air-conduction and bone-conduction headphones: A pilot study. In: Express Paper. Audio Engineering Society; 2025. Paper 391. Available from: https://aes.org/publications/elibrary-page/?id=23065

@inproceedings{Komkris2025_23065,
  author = {Komkris, Palavat and Park, Munhum},
  title = {{Sound lateralization compared between air-conduction and bone-conduction headphones: A pilot study}},
  note = {Paper 391},
  year = {2025},
  month = oct,
  publisher = {Audio Engineering Society},
  url = {https://aes.org/publications/elibrary-page/?id=23065}
}

TY  - CPAPER
TI  - Sound lateralization compared between air-conduction and bone-conduction headphones: A pilot study
AU  - Komkris, Palavat
AU  - Park, Munhum
M1  - Paper 391
PY  - 2025
DA  - 2025/10/14
UR  - https://aes.org/publications/elibrary-page/?id=23065
PB  - Audio Engineering Society
LA  - en
AB  - Bone-conduction (BC) headphones have gained popularity as an alternative to traditional air-conduction (AC) headphones due to their ability to deliver sound directly to the inner ear while leaving the ear canal open. This study compares auditory lateralization between BC and AC pathways as a foundational step toward evaluating the potential of BC devices for 3D sound rendering. Narrowband noise centered at 500, 1000, and 2000 Hz was used, and at each frequency, auditory image positions - manipulated via interaural level differences (ILDs) or interaural time differences (ITDs) - were perceptually matched between BC and AC presentations. To assess the influence of ear occlusion, tests were conducted under both open- and closed-ear conditions. Results showed that, in general, smaller ILDs and ITDs were needed to achieve the same lateralization with BC compared to AC, with two exceptions: ILD at 500 Hz in the open-ear condition and ITD at 2000 Hz in the closed-ear condition. The most pronounced effect of ear condition was observed at 500 Hz with ILD stimuli, likely due to interaural crosstalk. Further research with a larger sample size is needed to confirm these findings statistically.
ER  -