Binaural detection with narrowband and wideband reproducible noise maskers. IV. Models using interaural time, level, and envelope differences.

The addition of out-of-phase tones to in-phase noises results in dynamic interaural level difference (ILD) and interaural time difference (ITD) cues for the dichotic tone-in-noise detection task. Several models have been used to predict listeners' detection performance based on ILD, ITD, or different combinations of the two cues. The models can be tested using detection performance from an ensemble of reproducible-noise maskers. Previous models cannot predict listeners' detection performance for reproducible-noise maskers without fitting the data. Here, two models were tested for narrowband and wideband reproducible-noise experiments. One model was a linear combination of ILD and ITD that included the generally ignored correlation between the two cues. The other model was based on a newly proposed cue, the slope of the interaural envelope difference (SIED). Predictions from both models explained a significant portion of listeners' performance for detection of a 500-Hz tone in wideband noise. Predictions based on the SIED approached the predictable variance in the wideband condition. The SIED represented a nonlinear combination of ILD and ITD, with the latter cue dominating. Listeners did not use a common strategy (cue) to detect tones in the narrowband condition and may use different single frequencies or different combinations of frequency channels.