Development of Functional Spatial Hearing in Reverberation with and without Hearing Loss
The purpose of this study is to investigate how children with normal hearing develop spatial hearing in environments with reverberation, like classrooms.
Who can participate?
- Children and adults with normal hearing
- Ages 6-29 years old
Additional Requirements:
- Fluent in English-speaking (not necessarily native English speaking)
- Typically developing with no diagnosed developmental disabilities including Autism Spectrum Disorder, Cerebral Palsy, or Down Syndrome
- No sensitivity to flashing lights or adhesive/latex
What will participants do?
- (1) Hearing Screen: A quick screen of hearing and middle ear functions to verify normal hearing.
- (2) Sound Recording in Anechoic Chamber: We will play sounds from loudspeakers and record them back with a pair of small microphones placed in the participants’ ears. These recordings will be used to create personalized virtual audio.
- (3) Psychoacoustics: Participants may be asked to listen to sounds from the personalized virtual audio and judge their spatial locations or listen to words and sentences and repeat them back.
- (4) 3D Head Scan: We will use a hand-held 3D scanner to take photos of participants’ head to understand how children’s head sizes affect their ability to locate sounds.
Compensation
$20 for the first hour, $5 per 15 minutes after the first hour
Have questions or would like to participate?
Contact our lab at (531) 355-6539 or email us at funlab@boystown.org.
