The enhancement of hearing using a combination of sound and skin sensation to the pinna

Abstract

Recent development in sound technologies has enabled the realistic replay of real-life sounds. Thanks to these technologies, we can experience a virtual real sound environment. However, there are other types of sound technologies that enhance reality, such as acoustic filters, sound effects, and background music. They are quite effective if carefully prepared, but they also alter the sound itself. Consequently, sound is simultaneously used to reconstruct realistic environments and to enhance emotions, which are actually incompatible functions. With this background, we focused on using tactile modality to enhance emotions and propose a method that enhances the sound experience by a combination of sound and skin sensation to the pinna (earlobe). In this paper, we evaluate the effectiveness of this method.