Auralization is a technique which allows the rendering of realistic 3D audio based on virtual spatial scenes. Certain sound propagation parameters (or so-called auralization parameters) such as propagation delay, atmospheric attenuation, and spreading loss, can be derived from physics-based simulations of virtual scenes. These parameters are essential to rendering plausible sound signals in a spatial […]

From the beginning of their auditory development, children are immediately confronted with the challenge of orienting themselves in complex acoustic situations. Whether a parent’s voice or a passing vehicle, it is crucial to distinguish an auditory signal from the acoustic environment. Spatially distributed sound sources, distracting sounds, and disturbing background noise, for example, impede this […]

When understanding and recalling spoken language, various complex processes take place in the brain. Certain circumstances can either impede or facilitate speech comprehension, e.g. visual stimuli such as lip movements or gestures. Although the field of cognitive psychology has already intensively studied short-term memory performance or listening effort in such situations, it mostly uses simple […]

Sensorineural hearing loss is a common problem and causes a decreasing quality of life for the people affected. For several reasons, the realistic simulation of these impairments may be considered desirable. These include raising awareness for the problem in the general public, extending the capabilities of hearing models used to predict psychoacoustic parameters, and designing […]

We often see a disconnect between how people express themselves through language and how those words are perceived or interpreted. This gap exists, for example, between architects who strive to meet client expectations and users of the designed spaces who express their needs and requirements. We aim to bridge this gap by investigating the vocabulary […]

Ultrasonic metal welding (USMW) is a technique of welding small-area materials by means of high-frequency vibration friction welding. Despite its wide use, it is still hard to monitor the welding process, and optimise the strengths of the welds it produces. The objective of this work is to offer a simple and automated characterization of the […]

A listening experiment based on a developed paradigm to investigate the intentional switching of auditory selective attention with binaural sound reproduction was conducted to examine the influence of generic, individualized and individual head-related transfer functions (HRTFs) on the auditory selective attention of children. For many applications, the generic HRTF of an adult artificial head is […]

The main purpose of this study is to model the transmission of vibrations in the skull bone using equivalent circuits. For this purpose, further knowledge of the equivalent circuit model and the value of the parameters in the model is important. There are two parts to achieve this purpose. First part is by comparing the […]

Noise is known to influence human cognitive performance such as auditory selective attention. Not only cognitive abilities, but also physiological reactions can be measured when being exposed to noise. In comparison to adults, children are even more exposed to noise. Especially in educational buildings, such as schools, children are confronted with many different sound sources, […]

English: When the ear canal is occluded by devices such as headphones or hearing aids, the auditory perception of bone-conducted sounds is increased, which results, e.g., in an alteration of one’s own voice perception. The effect is caused by a motion of the skull that deforms the cartilage and bone to radiate sound into the […]

Ultrasonic Metal Welding (USMW) is a widely used manufacturing technology for joining metal components in modern industry. The metal sheets which are placed above the anvil need to be bonded. The sonotrode, which is also called the horn, vibrates at high frequency and on the top of the metal sheets. The constant clamp force applied […]

This study investigates the influence of virtual humans on auditory selective attention within a virtual reality (VR) environment. Auditory selective attention is a well-established phenomenon that affects our ability to focus on specific sounds while filtering out distractions. Previous research has demonstrated that visual cues, such as seeing the talker’s face, can enhance listening abilities. […]

The generation and propagation of noise is an ongoing research topic that affects everyone. Urban environments in particular suffer from high levels of noise pollution, which can negatively impact the health and well-being of citizens. It is therefore essential to understand the propagation of sound from one or more sources to a receiver. However, human […]

Voice disorders are more prevalent in occupational voice users, such as lecturers in universities. This thesis examines if a relationship between room acoustic properties of lecture halls and voice quality in lecturers can be established. For this, a study was conducted, in which voice samples of lecturers were recorded before and after lectures in different […]

Intentional switching of auditory selective attention (ASA) in the context of electrophysiological data, such as those from the electroencephalography (EEG), has yet been little explored. However, the combination of both components could be extremely useful to further develop i.e. attention-steered hearing aids. ASA is the cognitive ability to focus on an auditory stimulus while ignoring […]

Product sound quality significantly shapes consumer perception and user experience. Thus, the assessment of perceptual sound quality holds particular relevance for the industry. Sound quality assessment in listening laboratories utilizing binaural recordings facilitates realistic sound reproduction. However, such conditions do not adequately capture potential audio-visual interactions and environmental influences on sound quality ratings. To address […]

Room acoustic simulations usually assume the acoustic impedance of surfaces to be independent from wave incidence angle - in other words locally reacting. For most materials this is a valid assumption. Some porous absorber structures are, however, non-locally reacting: Their surface impedance expresses a dependence on the direction of an incident wave - more exactly […]

Adequate room acoustic conditions are crucial for creating comfortable communication, learning, or working environments. While acoustic simulations are an established tool for the prediction of the acoustic conditions in a room, the input data describing the acoustic properties of the surfaces and objects in rooms comes with uncertainties. In this thesis work, standardized and non-standardized […]

In primary schools, various activities can be conducted during classes. To improve the quality of communication, it was aimed to understand children's listening effort during different types of activities. In this thesis, the measurements were conducted in first and fourth grade in primary schools. Listening effort was assessed subjectively by the children in the means […]

Audiovisual listening experiments are crucial for understanding acoustical noise and human sound perception. However, traditional VR setups are limited by the need for expensive equipment and time-consuming laboratory sessions. As a result, interest in online experiments has been growing, especially since the COVID-19 pandemic. So far, these experiments have been restricted to basic setups lacking […]