Auditory localization and its clinical applications

Factors of significance in the localization of sound are considered. The ability of hearing-impaired subjects to localize noise in the horizontal plane was examined with and without hearing aids, and also compared with the results for normally hearing subjects. The directional hearing was not found to be improved by the hearing aids used. The ability to localize sound has been used by several investigators as a diagnostic tool: poor directional hearing may be expected in patients with lesions of the cochlear nerve or the pontine region. However, other factors are also of significance and may impair the localization of sound. These problems are discussed.