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Recent implementations of binaural synthesis have combined high-frequency pinna diffraction data with low-frequency acoustic models of the head and torso. This combination ensures that the salient cues required for directional localization in the horizontal plane are consistent with psychophysical expectations, regardless of the accuracy or match of the high-frequency cues, or the fidelity of experimental low-frequency information. This paper investigates the effect of a nonrigid boundary condition on the surface pressure and the resulting interaural cues used for horizontal localization. These are derived from an analytical single sphere diffraction model assuming a locally reacting and uniformly distributed impedance boundary condition. Decreasing the magnitude of a purely resistive surface impedance results in an overall decrease in the sphere surface pressure level, particularly in the posterior region. This produces nontrivial increases in both the interaural level and time difference, especially for sound source directions near the interaural axis. When the surface impedance contains a reactive component the interaural cues exhibit further changes. The basic impedance characteristics of human hair and their incorporation into the sphere diffraction model are also discussed.

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Previous analytical and empirical studies of the human auditory system have shown that the cues used for localization are modified by the inclusion of nonrigid scattering surfaces (clothing, hair etc). This paper presents an investigation into the acoustic impedance properties of human hair. The legitimacy of a locally reactive surface assumption is investigated, and an appropriate boundary condition is formulated to account for the physiological composition of a human head with hair. This utilizes an equivalent impedance parameter to allow the scattering boundary to be defined at a reference plane coincident with the inner rigid surface of the head. Experimental examination of a representative synthetic hair material at oblique incidence is used to show that a locally reactive surface assumption is legitimate. Additional experimental analysis of a simple scattering problem illustrates that the equivalent impedance must be used in favor of the traditional surface impedance to yield physically correct pressure magnitudes. The equivalent acoustic impedance properties of a representative range of human hair samples are discussed, including trends with sample thickness, fiber diameter, bulk density, and mass.