Active listening modulates the spatial hearing experience: a multicentric study.

Area of Science:

• Audiology
• Virtual Reality Technology
• Spatial Hearing

Background:

• Clinical sound localization testing often lacks ecological fidelity by restricting head movement.
• Current assessments rarely include metacognitive factors like perceived effort and confidence.
• Virtual reality (VR) offers portable solutions but faces limited clinical adoption.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate if allowing head movement during VR sound localization reduces perceived listening effort and enhances confidence in normal-hearing individuals.
• To assess the feasibility and usability of VR-based spatial hearing assessment in clinical audiology settings.

Main Methods:

• A study was conducted in three Italian audiology and otology hospital services using off-the-shelf VR equipment.
• Participants performed sound localization tasks under static head and free head movement conditions.
• Subjective measures of listening effort and confidence were collected.

Main Results:

• Head movement significantly reduced subjective listening effort compared to the static condition.
• Perceived confidence was not significantly affected by head movement.
• In the active condition, higher confidence correlated with less head movement and exploration; lower movement correlated with lower effort.

Conclusions:

• Allowing natural head movement in VR spatial hearing assessments captures a fuller extent of capabilities.
• Incorporating metacognitive evaluations alongside performance metrics is valuable.
• Affordable VR technology provides a flexible, dynamic alternative for clinical spatial hearing assessment.