Gulli Andrea, Fontana Federico, Aruffo Alessandro, Orzan Eva, Muzzi Enrico
Department of Engineering and Management, University of Padua, Padua, Italy.
HCI Lab, Department of Mathematics, Computer Science and Physics, University of Udine, Udine, Italy.
PLoS One. 2024 Dec 5;19(12):e0312073. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0312073. eCollection 2024.
This study investigates auditory localization in children with a diagnosis of hearing impairment rehabilitated with bilateral cochlear implants or hearing aids. Localization accuracy in the anterior horizontal field and its distribution along the angular position of the source were analyzed. Participants performed a localization task in a virtual environment where they could move their heads freely and were asked to point to an invisible sound source. The source was rendered using a loudspeaker set arranged as a semi-circular array in the horizontal plane. The participants' head positions were tracked while their hands pointed to the auditory target; the preferred listening position and the onset of active strategies involving head movement were extracted. A significant correlation was found between age and localization accuracy and age and head movement in children with bilateral hearing aids. Investigating conditions where no, one, or both hearing devices were turned off, it was found that asymmetrical hearing caused the largest errors. Under this specific condition, head movement was used erratically by children with bilateral cochlear implants who focused on postures maximizing sound intensity at the more sensitive ear. Conversely, those with a consolidated binaural hearing experience could use dynamic cues even if one hearing aid was turned off. This finding may have implications for the clinical evaluation and rehabilitation of individuals with hearing impairments.
本研究调查了使用双侧人工耳蜗或助听器康复的听力障碍儿童的听觉定位情况。分析了前水平视野中的定位准确性及其沿声源角位置的分布。参与者在虚拟环境中执行定位任务，在该环境中他们可以自由移动头部，并被要求指向一个不可见的声源。声源通过在水平面上布置成半圆形阵列的扬声器组呈现。当参与者的手指向听觉目标时，跟踪他们的头部位置；提取了首选聆听位置和涉及头部运动的主动策略的起始点。在佩戴双侧助听器的儿童中，发现年龄与定位准确性以及年龄与头部运动之间存在显著相关性。在研究关闭一个或两个听力设备以及不关闭任何设备的情况下，发现不对称听力会导致最大的误差。在这种特定条件下，佩戴双侧人工耳蜗的儿童会不稳定地使用头部运动，他们专注于使更敏感耳朵处的声音强度最大化的姿势。相反，那些具有巩固的双耳听力经验的儿童即使关闭一个助听器也可以使用动态线索。这一发现可能对听力障碍者的临床评估和康复具有启示意义。
