A Clinical Procedure for Evaluating Auditory Localization

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Abstract
Auditory localization is an important aspect of general hearing ability, yet there is no generally accepted, routine clinical procedure for measuring this function. A test is presented in which the patient is seated in the center of an array of seven loudspeakers. His task is to identify which loudspeaker is the source of a recorded speech signal for each of 21 test items. This procedure was evaluated by testing a group of normal-hearing subjects once with both ear canals open and with one ear canal occluded. The occlusion of the ear canal induced a sufficient interaural threshold difference in the subjects that a reduction in auditory localization ability could be expected. The procedure discriminated well between unoccluded and occluded conditions. It shows promise for clinical use and warrants further clinical investigation.
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