Critical Flicker Frequency and Auditory Stimuli – Procedure Settings

The standing standardized measure for the assessment of flicker severity, the light flickermeter (IEC TR 61547-1:2020), evaluates the flicker irritability level in reference conditions as a necessary simplification. This misestimates the actual level in the presence of other factors known to influence flicker visibility. One such factor is noise, which interacts with the visual system under specific circumstances. However, direct effect of noise or any auditory stimuli on the flicker visibility threshold is not yet understood. This article is concerned with the design of experiments aimed at determining whether the critical flicker frequency (CFF) is subject to change when the observer is exposed to pulsating sounds. The article describes the work done in designing the experiments and also reveals data from a preliminary campaign. Data collected so far are insufficient to establish a direct link between pulsating sound and CFF, but are used to adjust the conditions of a wider campaign. Mathematical tools are developed to evaluate the experiment results using a probabilistic framework.