Section 256 of 440
Complete canonical tutorial. This reader section contains the same teaching body as PWR-073 · Sound localisation. Open the Power dossier.
PWR-073 · SELF GUIDED full tutorial
Judge left, centre or right from fixed stereo clips without calling it real-world localisation
Spatial hearing can adapt, but it is a calibrated skill—not a universal sonar upgrade. The low-risk fixture uses headphone panning, not free-field sound localisation. The learner fixes device, headphones and level, faces forward, plays each clip once, answers left/centre/right before feedback and retests a novel random order. It must never be used for traffic, alarms or mobility. Channel-check and level-equalisation trials are kept separate from the scored panning set, and centre errors are analysed independently from left–right reversals.
1 · Permission and limits
Know exactly what you may do
2 · Get ready
Gather what you need and check the starting conditions
What you need
- An exact clip recipe for a helper using an audio editor: generate a 500 Hz sine tone lasting 500 ms with 20 ms fade-in and fade-out. Export three otherwise identical stereo files at 100% left L, equal left/right centre C and 100% right R. Duplicate them under neutral filenames to make folded Set A L,C,R,R,L,C,C,R,L,L,R,C,R,C,L,C,L,R and Set B R,L,C,C,R,L,L,C,R,R,C,L,C,L,R,L,R,C. Each set contains six of each direction; the learner never sees filenames or the folded key before answering.
- The same correctly oriented headphones and playback device.
- A locked comfortable level below the learner’s ordinary maximum.
- Trial sheet and answer key.
Before you start
- Confirm left/right headphone orientation and equal channel function at low level.
- Use a quiet seated room; keep the head facing forward.
- Set one comfortable level and never raise it to solve an item.
- Do not use the task for navigation, alarms, hearing diagnosis or unilateral hearing change.
3 · The method
Follow these steps in order
- Lock the audio chain
Record device, app/file version, headphones, channel orientation and volume setting.
Why: Direction in this task is created by the exact stereo chain.
Check: A repeat uses the same named chain.
- Learn three anchors
Play one obvious left, centre and right example at the locked level.
Why: Anchor clips verify channels and response labels.
Check: All three anchors are identified comfortably.
- Face forward and stay still
Keep head centred during each clip and do not swap earcups.
Why: Head movement is useful in real life but changes this panning fixture.
Check: Head and headphone orientation remain fixed.
- Play once
Start one random clip and listen once unless the predeclared replay rule permits a second play.
Why: Variable replay gives some items more evidence.
Check: Play count is recorded for every trial.
- Commit direction and confidence
Answer left, centre or right and confidence before opening the key.
Why: A committed choice reveals confusions and calibration.
Check: Answer precedes feedback.
- Classify the confusion
Mark correct or the exact confusion pair, such as centre called left; lower level if discomfort appears rather than changing it mid-set.
Why: Error type is more useful than one overall score.
Check: Every miss has a named pair and symptoms are recorded.
- Retest a new order
After at least 48 hours, use unfamiliar clips or random order with the same panning values and level.
Why: Novel order limits sequence memorisation.
Check: The retest contains no known order cue.
- Check for a channel imbalance
Before the scored set, play the same centred anchor twice, once normally and once with the earcups reversed. If the perceived centre shifts with the hardware, stop and inspect the playback chain instead of training direction answers.
Why: A loose cable, balance control or unequal transducer can create a persistent side bias that is not spatial learning.
Check: Both centred checks remain centred, or the audio chain is removed from use and the scored block does not begin.
- Calculate direction-specific accuracy
After the block, count left, centre and right trials separately and list every true-to-chosen confusion. Do not average away a centre bias with easy side trials.
Why: A person can identify left and right while systematically assigning centre clips to one side.
Check: Each true direction has its own denominator, and the most frequent confusion is named before the next set.
4 · Worked example
See the whole method used once
Scenario
Inez uses twelve synthetic stereo clips on one laptop with over-ear headphones at a locked comfortable setting.
Walkthrough
- She verifies earcup orientation and identifies obvious anchor clips.
- Facing forward, she plays each random clip once.
- She answers left, centre or right and confidence before checking.
- She records two centre-to-left confusions and no symptoms without raising volume.
- Two days later she uses a new order at the same level and audio chain.
- Inez finds that both centre anchors remain centred when the earcups are reversed, then calculates left, centre and right accuracy separately rather than using only ten correct out of twelve.
Result
Inez improves on stereo panning. This is not angular localisation in a room, echolocation or safe navigation. The separate centre analysis makes the result specific to headphone panning categories rather than a flattering overall percentage.
5 · Right and wrong
Compare correct or safer execution with the common wrong version
| Moment | Right / safer | Wrong / riskier | Why it matters |
|---|---|---|---|
| Level | Use one comfortable locked level. | Raise volume on difficult clips. | Loudness changes audibility and exposure. |
| Channels | Verify left/right orientation once. | Swap earcups or channels mid-set. | That reverses the answer mapping. |
| Replay | Follow one declared replay rule. | Replay misses until certain. | Extra evidence inflates selected trials. |
| Score | Record centre-left-right confusions and confidence. | Use one vague spatial-hearing score. | Different direction confusions reveal different errors. |
| Transfer | Call it headphone panning. | Use it to navigate traffic or judge alarms. | Headphone panning is not free-field localisation. |
| Persistent side bias | Check the centred anchor and device balance before changing the learner’s strategy. | Drill more left answers when every centre clip drifts left. | A hardware or hearing asymmetry must be separated from a learned response bias. |
6 · Common mistakes
Spot the error and apply the correction
| Mistake | Fix |
|---|---|
| Raise volume on difficult clips. | Use one comfortable locked level. |
| Swap earcups or channels mid-set. | Verify left/right orientation once. |
| Replay misses until certain. | Follow one declared replay rule. |
| Use one vague spatial-hearing score. | Record centre-left-right confusions and confidence. |
| Use it to navigate traffic or judge alarms. | Call it headphone panning. |
| A centred clip is treated as half-right when the learner says “slightly left”. | Use the three exact categories; mark centre-to-left as its own confusion and retain the confidence statement separately. |
7 · Practice
Turn the steps into a usable skill
First session
- A helper generates the 500 Hz L/C/R masters, prepares concealed Set A and Set B orders and confirms six trials per direction.
- Lock device, headphones, channel orientation and a comfortable level, then complete the unscored L/C/R anchors and two centred channel checks.
- Run all 18 Set A clips once each while facing forward, committing L/C/R and confidence before the folded key is opened.
- Build the true-to-chosen confusion table and calculate separate L, C and R accuracy without raising level.
- After at least 48 hours, run concealed Set B at the same audio chain and compare direction-specific errors.
Repeat plan
Use one short set once or twice weekly at the same comfortable level. Progress to new pan positions only after novel left/centre/right accuracy is stable.
Progress when
- Novel-order accuracy improves.
- Confidence better matches correctness.
- Listening remains comfortable with no level increase.
Do not progress when
- Headphones, channel balance or device changes.
- Tinnitus, pain, fullness or dizziness appears.
- The learner wants to use the score for mobility or clinical decisions.
8 · Check the result
Measure what changed
Left, centre and right accuracy and confusion for the supplied headphone-panning clips
How: Record correct direction, exact confusion, confidence, replay, device/headphones/level and symptoms. Add direction-specific denominators, a true-to-chosen confusion table and the result of the two unscored centred channel checks.
Good result: Two novel sets show higher accuracy or fewer systematic confusions at the same level without symptoms.
This does not prove: Declare azimuth/elevation/distance, source spectrum, room, head movement, device state and error distribution; no single localisation score covers spatial hearing.
Self-check
- Can you demonstrate “Learn three anchors”? All three anchors are identified comfortably.
- Can you demonstrate “Play once”? Play count is recorded for every trial.
- Can you demonstrate “Retest a new order”? The retest contains no known order cue.
- Can you distinguish a left–right reversal, a centre-to-side bias and a hardware channel shift from the trial record?
9 · Stop, adapt or get help
Keep the safety boundary practical
Stop and get help
- Stop for ear pain, tinnitus increase, fullness, dizziness, headache or distorted sound.
- Seek urgent assessment for sudden hearing loss, severe vertigo or neurological symptoms.
- Use an audiologist and orientation/mobility professional for real-world localisation or navigation needs.
Accessibility and adaptations
- Use larger response buttons, speech or switches; response speed is not scored.
- Allow monaural participation only as a separately labelled research observation, not the same localisation task.
- Use captions for instructions but not for the auditory answer.
10 · Evidence and limits
Why these instructions are here
- primary research
Primary research shows adaptive reweighting of localisation cues under a specific altered-hearing condition.
Adaptive reweighting of auditory localization cues in response to chronic unilateral earplugging in humans - official guidance
WHO official guidance supports controlling both sound level and listening duration.
Deafness and hearing loss: Safe listening
Limits
- Declare azimuth/elevation/distance, source spectrum, room, head movement, device state and error distribution; no single localisation score covers spatial hearing.
- Unsupported claim: Supernatural 3D hearing.
- Unsupported claim: Locate anything through walls.
- Unsupported claim: Earplug one ear to strengthen the other.
- Stereo-panning accuracy does not measure free-field angle, distance, echolocation or safe mobility.
Open the complete canonical research register
- Limiting / contraryNo effect of 10-week training in click-based echolocation on auditory localization in people who are blind
L. Thaler; L. J. Norman · 2021 · Primary research
- Primary empirical supportLimiting / contraryInteractions between egocentric and allocentric spatial coding of sounds revealed by a multisensory learning paradigm
G. Rabini; E. Altobelli; F. Pavani · 2019 · Primary research
- Primary empirical supportLimiting / contraryAdaptive reweighting of auditory localization cues in response to chronic unilateral earplugging in humans
D. P. Kumpik; O. Kacelnik; A. J. King · 2010 · Primary research
- Primary empirical supportLimiting / contraryFeasibility of Virtual Reality-Based Auditory Localization Training With Binaurally Recorded Auditory Stimuli for Patients With Single-Sided Deafness
L. Shim; J. Lee; J. H. Han; H. Jeon; S. K. Hong; H. J. Lee · 2023 · Primary research
- Limiting / contraryOfficial boundary contextDeafness and hearing loss: Safe listening
World Health Organization · 2026 · Official guidance
Read the complete evidence interpretation on the Power dossier.
Tutorial delivery controls
Learn, adapt, troubleshoot and resume
Progress is saved only in this browser on this device.
Step-by-step learner mode
Each activity includes its success check, a nearby accessible alternative and an “I’m stuck” correction path. Alternatives preserve the target where possible; when they change the task, Titan labels them as related rather than equivalent.
Lock the audio chain
Record device, app/file version, headphones, channel orientation and volume setting.
Direction in this task is created by the exact stereo chain.
A repeat uses the same named chain.
I’m stuck on this step
Reset: Re-read this authored instruction — “Record device, app/file version, headphones, channel orientation and volume setting.” — and its success check, then attempt only this step.
Possible snag: The result from “Record device, app/file version, headphones, channel orientation and volume setting.” does not yet meet this declared check: A repeat uses the same named chain.
Correction: Return to the start of “Lock the audio chain”, reduce complexity or pace, and repeat only the part needed to satisfy: “A repeat uses the same named chain.”
Stop / get help: Stop for ear pain, tinnitus increase, fullness, dizziness, headache or distorted sound.
Learn three anchors
Play one obvious left, centre and right example at the locked level.
Anchor clips verify channels and response labels.
All three anchors are identified comfortably.
I’m stuck on this step
Reset: Re-read this authored instruction — “Play one obvious left, centre and right example at the locked level.” — and its success check, then attempt only this step.
Possible snag: Raise volume on difficult clips.
Correction: Use one comfortable locked level.
Possible snag: Swap earcups or channels mid-set.
Correction: Verify left/right orientation once.
Stop / get help: Stop for ear pain, tinnitus increase, fullness, dizziness, headache or distorted sound.
Face forward and stay still
Keep head centred during each clip and do not swap earcups.
Head movement is useful in real life but changes this panning fixture.
Head and headphone orientation remain fixed.
I’m stuck on this step
Reset: Re-read this authored instruction — “Keep head centred during each clip and do not swap earcups.” — and its success check, then attempt only this step.
Possible snag: The result from “Keep head centred during each clip and do not swap earcups.” does not yet meet this declared check: Head and headphone orientation remain fixed.
Correction: Return to the start of “Face forward and stay still”, reduce complexity or pace, and repeat only the part needed to satisfy: “Head and headphone orientation remain fixed.”
Stop / get help: Stop for ear pain, tinnitus increase, fullness, dizziness, headache or distorted sound.
Play once
Start one random clip and listen once unless the predeclared replay rule permits a second play.
Variable replay gives some items more evidence.
Play count is recorded for every trial.
I’m stuck on this step
Reset: Re-read this authored instruction — “Start one random clip and listen once unless the predeclared replay rule permits a second play.” — and its success check, then attempt only this step.
Possible snag: Replay misses until certain.
Correction: Follow one declared replay rule.
Stop / get help: Stop for ear pain, tinnitus increase, fullness, dizziness, headache or distorted sound.
Commit direction and confidence
Answer left, centre or right and confidence before opening the key.
A committed choice reveals confusions and calibration.
Answer precedes feedback.
I’m stuck on this step
Reset: Re-read this authored instruction — “Answer left, centre or right and confidence before opening the key.” — and its success check, then attempt only this step.
Possible snag: Use one vague spatial-hearing score.
Correction: Record centre-left-right confusions and confidence.
Stop / get help: Stop for ear pain, tinnitus increase, fullness, dizziness, headache or distorted sound.
Classify the confusion
Mark correct or the exact confusion pair, such as centre called left; lower level if discomfort appears rather than changing it mid-set.
Error type is more useful than one overall score.
Every miss has a named pair and symptoms are recorded.
I’m stuck on this step
Reset: Re-read this authored instruction — “Mark correct or the exact confusion pair, such as centre called left; lower level if discomfort appears rather than changing it mid-set.” — and its success check, then attempt only this step.
Possible snag: A centred clip is treated as half-right when the learner says “slightly left”.
Correction: Use the three exact categories; mark centre-to-left as its own confusion and retain the confidence statement separately.
Stop / get help: Stop for ear pain, tinnitus increase, fullness, dizziness, headache or distorted sound.
Retest a new order
After at least 48 hours, use unfamiliar clips or random order with the same panning values and level.
Novel order limits sequence memorisation.
The retest contains no known order cue.
I’m stuck on this step
Reset: Re-read this authored instruction — “After at least 48 hours, use unfamiliar clips or random order with the same panning values and level.” — and its success check, then attempt only this step.
Possible snag: Use it to navigate traffic or judge alarms.
Correction: Call it headphone panning.
Stop / get help: Stop for ear pain, tinnitus increase, fullness, dizziness, headache or distorted sound.
Check for a channel imbalance
Before the scored set, play the same centred anchor twice, once normally and once with the earcups reversed. If the perceived centre shifts with the hardware, stop and inspect the playback chain instead of training direction answers.
A loose cable, balance control or unequal transducer can create a persistent side bias that is not spatial learning.
Both centred checks remain centred, or the audio chain is removed from use and the scored block does not begin.
I’m stuck on this step
Reset: Re-read this authored instruction — “Before the scored set, play the same centred anchor twice, once normally and once with the earcups reversed. If the perceived centre shifts with the hardware, stop and inspect the playback chain instead of training direction answers.” — and its success check, then attempt only this step.
Possible snag: The result from “Before the scored set, play the same centred anchor twice, once normally and once with the earcups reversed. If the perceived centre shifts with the hardware, stop and inspect the playback chain instead of training direction answers.” does not yet meet this declared check: Both centred checks remain centred, or the audio chain is removed from use and the scored block does not begin.
Correction: Return to the start of “Check for a channel imbalance”, reduce complexity or pace, and repeat only the part needed to satisfy: “Both centred checks remain centred, or the audio chain is removed from use and the scored block does not begin.”
Stop / get help: Stop for ear pain, tinnitus increase, fullness, dizziness, headache or distorted sound.
Calculate direction-specific accuracy
After the block, count left, centre and right trials separately and list every true-to-chosen confusion. Do not average away a centre bias with easy side trials.
A person can identify left and right while systematically assigning centre clips to one side.
Each true direction has its own denominator, and the most frequent confusion is named before the next set.
I’m stuck on this step
Reset: Re-read this authored instruction — “After the block, count left, centre and right trials separately and list every true-to-chosen confusion. Do not average away a centre bias with easy side trials.” — and its success check, then attempt only this step.
Possible snag: The result from “After the block, count left, centre and right trials separately and list every true-to-chosen confusion. Do not average away a centre bias with easy side trials.” does not yet meet this declared check: Each true direction has its own denominator, and the most frequent confusion is named before the next set.
Correction: Return to the start of “Calculate direction-specific accuracy”, reduce complexity or pace, and repeat only the part needed to satisfy: “Each true direction has its own denominator, and the most frequent confusion is named before the next set.”
Stop / get help: Stop for ear pain, tinnitus increase, fullness, dizziness, headache or distorted sound.
Correct versus incorrect execution
These accessible process diagrams are built from the tutorial’s own right/wrong teaching. They are not anatomical illustrations and do not add technique beyond the canonical tutorial.
Use one comfortable locked level.
Raise volume on difficult clips.
Verify left/right orientation once.
Swap earcups or channels mid-set.
Follow one declared replay rule.
Replay misses until certain.
Record centre-left-right confusions and confidence.
Use one vague spatial-hearing score.
Call it headphone panning.
Use it to navigate traffic or judge alarms.
Check the centred anchor and device balance before changing the learner’s strategy.
Drill more left answers when every centre clip drifts left.
Method-structure checklist
10 of 10 structural checks present
- Ordered, Power-specific instructions — present
- Every activity has a success check — present
- Materials or supplied records are declared — present
- Measurement or assessment rule is present — present
- Tutorial-specific troubleshooting is present — present
- Stopping or escalation boundary is present — present
- Every activity has an adjacent alternative — present
- Correct-versus-incorrect comparison is present — present
- Evidence context is bound to the Power record — present
- Planning metadata is present — present
The method-readiness band and presence checklist assess tutorial presentation and are separate from evidence quality for the underlying Power. They are automated editorial aids, not human approval.
Manual editorial sign-off: Pending. This tutorial must not display a human-approved state until an identified editor signs the exact content hash.