Hard-of-Hearing Music Fans Prefer a Different Sound

Modern music can be inaccessible to those with hearing loss; sound mixing tweaks could make a difference.

Listeners with hearing loss can struggle to make out vocals and certain frequencies in modern music. Credit: Aravindan Joseph Benjamin

WASHINGTON, August 22, 2023 – Millions of people around the world experience some form of hearing loss, resulting in negative impacts to their health and quality of life. Treatments exist in the form of hearing aids and cochlear implants, but these assistive devices cannot replace the full functionality of human hearing and remain inaccessible for most people. Auditory experiences, such as speech and music…click to read more

From: The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America
Article: Exploring level- and spectrum-based music mixing transforms for hearing-impaired listeners
DOI: 10.1121/10.0020269

Vocal Tract Size, Shape Dictate Speech Sounds

Main anatomical shape factors of the vocal tract. Credit: Antoine Serrurier

WASHINGTON, March 21, 2023 – Only humans have the ability to use speech. Remarkably, this communication is understandable across accent, social background, and anatomy despite a wide variety of ways to produce the necessary sounds. In JASA, published on behalf of the Acoustical Society of America by AIP Publishing, researchers from…click to read more

From the Journal: The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America
Article: Morphological and acoustic modeling of the vocal tract
DOI: 10.1121/10.0017356

Capturing and Analyzing Subtle Combination Tones Produced by Violins

This Totoni violin, made in Bologna in 1700, produced the strongest and most audible combination tones. CREDIT: Gabriele Caselli, Giovanni Cecchi, and Giulio Masetti

WASHINGTON, Nov. 1, 2022 – When two musical notes are played simultaneously, the human ear can perceive weak additional tones called combination tones. These subjective tones result from the nonlinearity of the inner ear and are attributed to the amplification mechanism of the cochlea. Subjective tones are perceived with…click to read more

From the Journal: The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America
Article: Characteristics, mechanisms, and perceivability of combination tones in violins
DOI: 10.1121/10.0014600

Telehealth Makes Hearing Health Care More Equitable

Dr. Samantha Kleindienst Robler taking a photo of an ear (not a patient) using a telemedicine/telehealth cart. CREDIT: Reba Lean

Dr. Samantha Kleindienst Robler taking a photo of an ear (not a patient) using a telemedicine cart. CREDIT: Reba Lean

WASHINGTON, Sept. 20, 2022 – According to the World Health Organization, 1.6 billion people across the globe are living with hearing loss. Much of that is preventable, stemming from excessive noise, untreated ear infections, and…click to read more

From the Journal: The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America
Article: Telehealth solutions for assessing auditory outcomes related to noise and ototoxic exposures in clinic and research
DOI: 10.1121/10.0013706

Saturn V Was Loud But Didn’t Melt Concrete

The Saturn V rocket carried humans to the moon and remains the most powerful rocket to reach orbit to date. CREDIT: NASA

WASHINGTON, August 23, 2022 – The Saturn V carried man to the moon and remains the most powerful rocket to successfully launch to orbit. It captures the imagination — but sometimes, it might capture a bit too much imagination. Abundant internet claims about the acoustic power of the rocket suggest that it melted concrete and…click to read more

From the Journal: The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America
Article: Saturn-V sound levels: A letter to the Redditor
DOI: 10.1121/10.0013216

Ultrasound Could Save Racehorses from Bucked Shins

Top: Cross-sectional view of the bone mineral density distribution in the metacarpal bone measured by computed tomography. Bottom: Simulated wave propagation in bone. CREDIT: Miyashita et al.

WASHINGTON, August 9, 2022 – When racehorses enter training at about 2 years old, they can develop tiny stress fractures and new bone formations in their legs. This condition, called bucked shin, occurs in about 70% of the animals, leading to pain and delays…click to read more

From the Journal: The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America
Article: Study on ultrasonic wave propagation in equine leg bone for screening bucked shin
DOI: 10.1121/10.0012689

Modern music can be inaccessible to those with hearing loss; sound mixing tweaks could make a difference.

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