Comments on: What it looks like to hear like Mel http://blog.melchua.com/2007/01/28/what-it-looks-like-to-hear-like-mel/ Braindump of the Mel. Seek coherency and relevance at your own risk. Fri, 12 Mar 2010 12:50:02 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.9.2 hourly 1 By: Cognitive Conga » Blog Archive » Earglasses* http://blog.melchua.com/2007/01/28/what-it-looks-like-to-hear-like-mel/comment-page-1/#comment-784 Cognitive Conga » Blog Archive » Earglasses* Tue, 10 Jun 2008 14:14:21 +0000 http://blog.melchua.com/2007/01/28/what-it-looks-like-to-hear-like-mel/#comment-784 [...] plugins), optimised for music. I set up an EQ stage at the end of the chain, modelled on the graph of Mel’s auditory response, and started applying filters before it in an attempt to make the end result sound as natural as [...] [...] plugins), optimised for music. I set up an EQ stage at the end of the chain, modelled on the graph of Mel’s auditory response, and started applying filters before it in an attempt to make the end result sound as natural as [...]

]]> By: Mel http://blog.melchua.com/2007/01/28/what-it-looks-like-to-hear-like-mel/comment-page-1/#comment-181 Mel Mon, 29 Jan 2007 19:23:00 +0000 http://blog.melchua.com/2007/01/28/what-it-looks-like-to-hear-like-mel/#comment-181 That is in fact how conventional hearing aids are supposed to work. It doesn't work that well in practice; I'm not entirely sure why, but I suspect that you might be getting artifacts when you try to amplify it that much (especially when you have to squeeze the microphone, speaker(s), and processing power into the size of your pinky).<br /><br />Also, my high frequencies may be worse than this picture shows. I used to try to cheat hearing tests when I was a kid by listening to the microphone clicks instead of the actual tones. It looks like it worked.<br /><br />Loud high frequency sounds for you do sound like soft high frequency sounds for me, for certain frequencies. For instance, I can hear most cell phone rings if the phone is right next to my ear, whereas you can probably hear it from across a crowded room - taking into account that air is a severe low-pass filter. <br /><br />But yes, my ears can still be damaged by loud high frequency sounds. I'm not sure about uncomfortable - I've never been exposed to a sound like that, because other people around me usually experience pain and turn off the sound long before I'm even aware of it (example: fire alarms). That is in fact how conventional hearing aids are supposed to work. It doesn’t work that well in practice; I’m not entirely sure why, but I suspect that you might be getting artifacts when you try to amplify it that much (especially when you have to squeeze the microphone, speaker(s), and processing power into the size of your pinky).

Also, my high frequencies may be worse than this picture shows. I used to try to cheat hearing tests when I was a kid by listening to the microphone clicks instead of the actual tones. It looks like it worked.

Loud high frequency sounds for you do sound like soft high frequency sounds for me, for certain frequencies. For instance, I can hear most cell phone rings if the phone is right next to my ear, whereas you can probably hear it from across a crowded room – taking into account that air is a severe low-pass filter.

But yes, my ears can still be damaged by loud high frequency sounds. I’m not sure about uncomfortable – I’ve never been exposed to a sound like that, because other people around me usually experience pain and turn off the sound long before I’m even aware of it (example: fire alarms).

]]> By: L33tminion http://blog.melchua.com/2007/01/28/what-it-looks-like-to-hear-like-mel/comment-page-1/#comment-180 L33tminion Mon, 29 Jan 2007 17:49:00 +0000 http://blog.melchua.com/2007/01/28/what-it-looks-like-to-hear-like-mel/#comment-180 Another thought: You seem to have some hearing in the high frequency range, just at high volumes. Would it be possible to address your problem with a hearing aid tuned to amplify only higher frequencies? Or would that be too loud (either damaging or uncomfortable)?<br /><br />Do loud high-frequency sounds sound like soft high-frequency sounds to you? Do such sounds still have the potential to damage your hearing? Another thought: You seem to have some hearing in the high frequency range, just at high volumes. Would it be possible to address your problem with a hearing aid tuned to amplify only higher frequencies? Or would that be too loud (either damaging or uncomfortable)?

Do loud high-frequency sounds sound like soft high-frequency sounds to you? Do such sounds still have the potential to damage your hearing?

]]> By: L33tminion http://blog.melchua.com/2007/01/28/what-it-looks-like-to-hear-like-mel/comment-page-1/#comment-179 L33tminion Mon, 29 Jan 2007 06:57:00 +0000 http://blog.melchua.com/2007/01/28/what-it-looks-like-to-hear-like-mel/#comment-179 A useful and interesting post.<br /><br /><i>say the words "big" and "pig"... one is voiced and one is unvoiced.</i><br /><br />A nitpick: "p" is semivoiced, not unvoiced. The unvoiced consonant in that set is "h". A useful and interesting post.

say the words “big” and “pig”… one is voiced and one is unvoiced.

A nitpick: “p” is semivoiced, not unvoiced. The unvoiced consonant in that set is “h”.

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