Binaural summation and lateralization of transients: a combined analysis.

Subjects judged the loudness and the lateral position of dichotic transient signals, which were presented at equal and unequal levels, synchronously and asynchronously, to the two ears. Binaural loudness summation of clicks does not obey a law of linear addition: It is partial at low level and superadditive at high level. Supersummation is greater for interaurally delayed clicks than for coincidental ones. The relation between click loudness and sound pressure (over moderate SLs) can be described as a power function with a greater exponent for the binaural function. Lateral positions spread over a greater range for interaural level differences than for interaural time differences. The time-intensity trading ratio was greater than is typically reported for tones. When sound lateralization was induced by interaural time difference, but not by intensity difference, a virtually perfect negative correlation between loudness and extent of off-center displacement existed.