The effects of hearing protectors on auditory localization: evidence from audio-visual target acquisition.
Response times (RT) in an audio-visual target acquisition task were collected from 3 participants while wearing either circumaural earmuffs, foam earplugs, or no hearing protection. Analyses revealed that participants took significantly longer to locate and identify an audio-visual target in both hearing protector conditions than they did in the unoccluded condition, suggesting a disturbance of the cues used by listeners to localize sounds in space. RTs were significantly faster in both hearing protector conditions than in a non-audio control condition, indicating that auditory localization was not completely disrupted. Results are discussed in terms of safety issues involved with wearing hearing protectors in an occupational environment.
Bolia
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Air Force Research Laboratory, Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, OH 45433, USA. rbolia@hotmail.com
McKinley
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D000328:Adult; D003463:Cues; D004430:Ear Protective Devices / Q000009:adverse effects*; D004867:Equipment Design; D006801:Humans; D016014:Linear Models; D008297:Male; D016272:Occupational Health; D011597:Psychomotor Performance; D011930:Reaction Time; D013017:Sound Localization; D013997:Time Factors