Spatial Hearing
Using two ears, the brain infers where a sound comes from. This demonstration pans a locally generated tone and asks you to say which side it came from.
How to run it
- 1.Use headphones — the demonstration relies on left/right separation.
- 2.Press Start to enable audio, then play a trial and choose left, centre, or right.
- 3.Keep the volume comfortable and low; you can stop the audio at any time.
Interactive demonstration
Headphones required. Audio only starts when you press Start, and stops when you leave this page. Keep the volume low and comfortable.
How this demonstration works
A Web Audio oscillator and a StereoPannerNode are created locally inside a user gesture — no audio files are downloaded and nothing is recorded. Panning position is randomised per trial. The AudioContext, oscillator, and gain nodes are stopped and closed when you leave the page.
What the science says
Horizontal localisation relies mainly on interaural time differences at low frequencies and interaural level differences at high frequencies, integrated in the brainstem. Headphone panning simulates only level differences, so it demonstrates the principle rather than reproducing real-world spatial hearing, which also uses head shape and pinna filtering.
For the immersive listening side — spatial sound experiences built on the same auditory principles. SonicSenses.com
Sources
Sponsor this work
BRAINMATTER is independent and reader-supported. These demos and the Visualizer Studio run entirely in your browser, with no tracking and no sign-up. A one-time sponsorship covers research time, editorial review, and hosting so we can keep publishing without paywalls.