Applying Virtual Reality to Audiovisual Speech Perception Tasks in Children

Area of Science:

• Audiology
• Human-Computer Interaction
• Educational Technology

Background:

• Hearing research with children often relies on controlled laboratory settings.
• Simulating real-world acoustic environments presents challenges for research accuracy.
• Virtual reality (VR) offers a potential solution for immersive and controlled auditory research.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the efficacy of virtual reality (VR) technology in pediatric hearing research.
• To compare children's speech perception abilities in a traditional lab versus a VR classroom.
• To assess the impact of auditory-only (AO) and auditory-visual (AV) conditions within different environments.

Main Methods:

• 48 participants (40 children, 8 young adults) completed speech perception and localization tasks.
• Tasks were performed in a standard lab and a VR classroom using Oculus Rift.
• Auditory-only (AO) and auditory-visual (AV) conditions were employed.

Main Results:

• Speech perception scores were significantly higher in auditory-visual (AV) conditions compared to auditory-only (AO) conditions.
• Children's performance in the VR classroom closely mirrored lab performance for AV tasks.
• AO tasks showed improved speech perception in VR, while AV tasks showed minimal change.

Conclusions:

• VR head-mounted displays are a viable tool for audiovisual (AV) hearing research with children.
• VR technology increases flexibility for conducting AV speech perception testing.
• VR provides a controlled yet immersive environment for pediatric audiological research.