Differences in localization ability in cases of right versus left unilateral simulated conductive hearing loss

The purpose of this study was to determine whether localization errors were greater in cases of right ear unilateral simulated conductive loss, as compared to left ear simulated conductive loss of the same degree and configuration. Thirty adults were asked to localize a 3-kHz warbled pure tone with their left and right ears alternately occluded with an earplug. Significantly greater localization difficulty was found when the right ear was occluded. The average error was 58 degrees with the left ear plugged and 64 degrees when the right ear was occluded, which approximates the 65-degree average error that would have resulted from random guessing. This suggests that short-term conductive losses result in unusually poor localization ability, which is worse if the right ear is affected.