Related Experiment Video
Updated: Aug 5, 2026
07:52
An Automated System for Sound Localization Testing in Hearing-Impaired Listeners
Published on: March 13, 2026
Effects of Hearing Loss and Hearing Aid Directionality on Performance and Orienting Behavior in a Multi-Talker
Sreeram Kaithali Narayanan1,2,3, Axel Ahrens1, Filip Rønne4
1Hearing Systems Section, Department of Health Technology, Technical University of Denmark, Kongens Lyngby, Denmark.
Ear and Hearing
|July 27, 2026
Summary
Hearing-impaired individuals struggle in noisy environments, and while hearing aids help, directional microphones can hinder sound localization. This study reveals differences in how hearing-impaired and normal-hearing listeners orient and perform in complex listening scenarios.
Area of Science:
- Auditory Neuroscience
- Human-Computer Interaction
- Speech Perception
Background:
- Hearing impairment (HI) significantly impacts speech perception, especially in complex acoustic environments with multiple talkers.
- Hearing aids with directional microphones aim to improve speech understanding but may affect spatial cue perception and listener orienting behavior.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the performance and orienting behaviors of hearing-impaired (HI) and normal-hearing (NH) listeners in a complex audiovisual search task.
- To examine the effects of unaided, omnidirectional, and directional microphone settings on task performance and orienting strategies.
Main Methods:
- Twenty-two HI and twenty normal-hearing (NH) participants performed an audiovisual search task in a reverberant environment with competing narratives.
- Virtual reality, a 64-channel loudspeaker array, and head/eye tracking were used to simulate the environment and record movements.
- Performance was measured by accuracy, localization error, and response time; orienting behavior was quantified through metrics like misorientation rate and scan-path efficiency.
Main Results:
- HI participants demonstrated significantly poorer accuracy, greater localization errors, and longer response times compared to NH participants.
- HI listeners exhibited less direct search behavior, relying more on eye movements and showing more complex gaze patterns, especially when aided.
- Directional microphone settings in NH listeners led to reduced accuracy and increased localization errors, suggesting challenges with altered spatial cues.
Conclusions:
- Significant differences exist in performance and orienting behavior between HI and NH listeners in complex multi-talker environments.
- While directional microphones aid speech understanding, they can pose challenges for tasks requiring precise sound source localization.
- Findings underscore the impact of hearing loss and the limitations of current hearing aid technology in complex auditory settings.
