A compensation method of sound source direction perceived through bone-conduction headphones by emphasizing interaural level difference

Abstract

Perceived directions of sound sources presented through bone-conduction (BC) headphones inclined toward the center, rather than air-conduction headphones. Such difference losses some merit of BC headphones as hearing aids. We previously proposed a design concept to compensate the discrepancy of perceived direction of arrival for BC headphones based on emphasis of interaural level difference (ILD). In this study, we have implemented the compensation method and evaluated its performance. As a result, the perceived direction through BC headphones was improved with the proposed ILD emphasis although little difference still remained.