Effects of CIC hearing aids on auditory localization by listeners with normal hearing

An experiment was conducted to determine the effects of completely-in-the-canal (CIC) hearing aids on auditory localization performance. Six normal-hearing listeners localized a 750-ms broadband noise from loudspeakers ranging in azimuth from -180 degrees to +180 degrees and in elevation from -75 degrees to +90 degrees. Independent variables included the presence or absence of the hearing aid and the elevation of the source. Dependent measures included azimuth error, elevation error, and the percentage of trials resulting in a front-back confusion. The findings indicate a statistically significant decrement in localization acuity, both in azimuth and elevation, occasioned by the wearing of CIC hearing aids. However, the magnitude of this decrement was small compared to those typically caused by other ear-canal occlusions, such as earplugs, and would probably not engender mislocalization of real-world sounds.