Very Low Frequency sounds affect our hearing & perception
Posted: Sat Jan 03, 2015 3:58 pm
I wanted to draw attention to this recent (Oct 2014) research http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/20 ... 092404.htm as it has significance in a number of areas
"Barely perceptible low-frequency signals nevertheless activate measurable responses in our auditory circuits. Neurobiologists have now characterized the remarkable impact of low-frequency sounds on the inner ear."
"Further experiments will probe the possibility that this phenomenon may be linked to noise-induced auditory damage, one of the most common causes of hearing impairment in industrialized countries"
"Sources of low-frequency signals are a prominent feature of technologically advanced societies like our own. Wind turbines, air-conditioning systems and heat pumps, for instance, can generate such sounds. Hearing thresholds in this region of the acoustic spectrum vary from one person to the next. "But the assumption that the ear is unresponsive to low-frequency sounds because these are seldom consciously perceived is actually quite false. The ear indeed reacts to very low-frequency signals,"
First & foremost, I wanted to support Rocker's(?) protest about wind turbines. The search facility on this forum is really bad & let's down the whole usefulness of the info posted here (& there's some great info that has been posted)
Secondly, I suspect that this is where we should be looking for the explanations of the age old issue of why we perceive improvements but yet can't measure them. I'm pretty sure that reduction in VLF noise (Very Low Frequency) leads to major perceptual improvements in what we hear - things that I've experienced myself & I'm sure others concur - "the usual effects are much more spatial information, especially front to back, with a good recording and good gear you can hear that the trumpet layer is located to the right behind the violin player, that sort of thing"
Why are VLF measurements not usually done? Two reasons: - first it was considered that we don't perceive these signals (same as we don't perceive signals above 20KHz). Secondly, it takes a long time to run an FFT (the usual test done for analysis) for low frequency.
Anyway, thought I'd post this for both reasons above. Full paper is here http://rsos.royalsocietypublishing.org/ ... 1/2/140166
"Barely perceptible low-frequency signals nevertheless activate measurable responses in our auditory circuits. Neurobiologists have now characterized the remarkable impact of low-frequency sounds on the inner ear."
"Further experiments will probe the possibility that this phenomenon may be linked to noise-induced auditory damage, one of the most common causes of hearing impairment in industrialized countries"
"Sources of low-frequency signals are a prominent feature of technologically advanced societies like our own. Wind turbines, air-conditioning systems and heat pumps, for instance, can generate such sounds. Hearing thresholds in this region of the acoustic spectrum vary from one person to the next. "But the assumption that the ear is unresponsive to low-frequency sounds because these are seldom consciously perceived is actually quite false. The ear indeed reacts to very low-frequency signals,"
First & foremost, I wanted to support Rocker's(?) protest about wind turbines. The search facility on this forum is really bad & let's down the whole usefulness of the info posted here (& there's some great info that has been posted)
Secondly, I suspect that this is where we should be looking for the explanations of the age old issue of why we perceive improvements but yet can't measure them. I'm pretty sure that reduction in VLF noise (Very Low Frequency) leads to major perceptual improvements in what we hear - things that I've experienced myself & I'm sure others concur - "the usual effects are much more spatial information, especially front to back, with a good recording and good gear you can hear that the trumpet layer is located to the right behind the violin player, that sort of thing"
Why are VLF measurements not usually done? Two reasons: - first it was considered that we don't perceive these signals (same as we don't perceive signals above 20KHz). Secondly, it takes a long time to run an FFT (the usual test done for analysis) for low frequency.
Anyway, thought I'd post this for both reasons above. Full paper is here http://rsos.royalsocietypublishing.org/ ... 1/2/140166