The interaural time difference (or ITD) when concerning humans or animals, is the difference in arrival time of a sound between two ears. It is important in the localization of sounds, as it provides a cue to the direction or angle of the sound source from the head. If a signal arrives at the head from one side, the signal has further to travel to reach the far ear than the near ear. This pathlength difference results in a time difference between the sound's arrivals at the ears, which is detected and aids the process of identifying the direction of sound source.

When a signal is produced in the horizontal plane, its angle in relation to the head is referred to as its azimuth, with 0 degrees (0°) azimuth being directly in front of the listener, 90° to the right, and 180° being directly behind.

The duplex theory proposed by Lord Rayleigh (1907) provides an explanation for the ability of humans to localise sounds by time differences between the sounds reaching each ear (ITDs) and differences in sound level entering the ears (interaural level differences, ILDs). But there still lies a question whether ITD or ILD is prominent.

The duplex theory states that ITDs are used to localise low-frequency sounds, in particular, while ILDs are used in the localisation of high-frequency sound inputs. However, the frequency ranges for which the auditory system can use ITDs and ILDs significantly overlap, and most natural sounds will have both high- and low-frequency components, so that the auditory system will in most cases have to combine information from both ITDs and ILDs to judge the location of a sound source. A consequence of this duplex system is that it is also possible to generate so-called "cue trading" or "time–intensity trading" stimuli on headphones, where ITDs pointing to the left are offset by ILDs pointing to the right, so the sound is perceived as coming from the midline.

A limitation of the duplex theory is that the theory does not completely explain directional hearing, as no explanation is given for the ability to distinguish between a sound source directly in front and behind. Also the theory only relates to localising sounds in the horizontal plane around the head. The theory also does not take into account the use of the pinna in localisation (Gelfand, 2004).

Experiments conducted by Woodworth (1938) tested the duplex theory by using a solid sphere to model the shape of the head and measuring the ITDs as a function of azimuth for different frequencies. The model used had a distance between the two ears of approximately 22–23 cm. Initial measurements found that there was a maximum time delay of approximately 660 μs when the sound source was placed at directly 90° azimuth to one ear. This time delay correlates to the wavelength of a sound input with a frequency of 1500 Hz. The results concluded that when a sound played had a frequency less than 1500 Hz, the wavelength is greater than this maximum time delay between the ears. Therefore, there is a phase difference between the sound waves entering the ears providing acoustic localisation cues. With a sound input with a frequency closer to 1500 Hz the wavelength of the sound wave is similar to the natural time delay. Therefore, due to the size of the head and the distance between the ears there is a reduced phase difference, so localisations errors start to be made. When a high-frequency sound input is used with a frequency greater than 1500 Hz, the wavelength is shorter than the distance between the ears, a head shadow is produced, and ILD provide cues for the localisation of this sound.

Feddersen et al. (1957) also conducted experiments taking measurements on how ITDs alter with changing the azimuth of the loudspeaker around the head at different frequencies. But unlike the Woodworth experiments, human subjects were used rather than a model of the head. The experiment results agreed with the conclusion made by Woodworth about ITDs. The experiments also concluded that there is no difference in ITDs when sounds are provided from directly in front or behind at 0° and 180° azimuth. The explanation for this is that the sound is equidistant from both ears. Interaural time differences alter as the loudspeaker is moved around the head. The maximum ITD of 660 μs occurs when a sound source is positioned at 90° azimuth to one ear.

Starting in 1948, the prevailing theory on interaural time differences centered on the idea that inputs from the medial superior olive differentially process inputs from the ipsilateral and contralateral side relative to the sound. This is accomplished through a discrepancy in arrival time of excitatory inputs into the medial superior olive, based on differential conductance of the axons, which allows both sounds to ultimately converge at the same time through neurons with complementary intrinsic properties.