The goal of the present study was to investigate the human factors issues related to acoustic beacons used for auditory navigation. Specific issues addressed were: (1) the effect of various beacon characteristics on human accuracy in turning toward the direction of the acoustic beacon; (2) the difference between real and virtual environments on human accuracy in turning toward the acoustic beacon; and (3) the perceived sound quality of various acoustic beacons. Three experiments were conducted in which acoustic beacons were presented in a background of 80 dBA pink noise. Results of the localization tasks revealed that (a) presentation mode (continuous versus pulsed beacon sound) did not affect the overall localization accuracy or number of front-back confusion errors; and (b) the type of acoustic beacon affected the size of localization error. Results of the sound quality assessment indicated that listeners had definite preferences regarding the type of sound being used as a beacon, with (a) non-speech beacons preferred over speech beacons, (b) a beacon repetition rate of 1.1 rps preferred over either the 0.7 or 2.5 rps rates, and (c) a continuous operation of a beacon preferred over a pulsed operation. Finally, sound quality ratings and localization errors were highly negatively correlated. This finding demonstrates the usefulness and practical values of sound quality judgements for audio display design and evaluation.
Pure-tone audiometry is not always appropriate with young children and with difficult to test populations. In such cases, various other audiological tests that are based on broadband sound effect detection and recognition tasks are used. However, results of those tests do not provide frequency specific information about the client’s hearing. The purpose of the present study was to determine whether selected sound effects that are spectrally limited to 1 octave bandwidth could be used as a basis for frequency-specific environmental audiometry. Twenty adults with normal hearing sensitivity participated in the study. Their task was to detect and recognize various bandlimited musical and environmental sounds presented in quiet and noise. The results of the study indicate that environmental audiometry based on filtered sound effects is a promising alternative to pure-tone audiometry. Further studies with children and the development of normalized thresholds using frequency-specific sound effects are needed.
Background The central nervous system integrates information from different sensory inputs (vestibular, visual, and somatosensory) to maintain balance. However, strategies for weighing sensory information change as maturation occurs. Purpose The purpose of this study was to: (1) evaluate postural control development in a large sample of healthy children aged 5 to 17 years old, (2) analyze changes in sensory weighting strategies as maturation occurs, and (3) determine the extent to which anthropometric characteristics (height, weight, body mass index [BMI]) influence postural control. Sample Size This study recruited 120 healthy children, equally distributed in gender and number, into four age groups (5–8 years, 9–11 years, 12–14 years, and 15–17 years) and compared them to a control group of 20 healthy adults (aged 20–25 years). Research Design The sensory organization test (SOT) was used to assess overall balance and the use of specific sensory inputs to maintain postural control. All children underwent the six SOT conditions: (1) eyes open, surround and platform stable, (2) eyes closed, surround and platform stable, (3) eyes open, sway-referenced surround, platform stable, (4) eyes open, sway-referenced platform, (5) eyes closed, sway-referenced platform, and (6) eyes open, sway-referenced surround and platform. Data Analysis Condition-specific equilibrium scores (ES), composite equilibrium scores (CES), and sensory analysis ratios were analyzed to determine whether the performance was related to age, gender, or specific anthropometric characteristics (height, weight, and BMI). Results Data showed a significant age-associated improvement in ES for all 6 conditions (p < 0.05) and in CES (p = 0.001). For both genders, (1) somatosensory function was adult-like by age 5 to 8 years, (2) visual function peaked around age 12 years, and (3) vestibular function reached maturity by age 15 to 17 years (p < 0.05). A moderate positive correlation (r(140) = 0.684, p = 0.01; two-tailed) between height and CES was found and a weak positive correlation (r(140) = 0.198, p = 0.01) between height and somatosensory ratio was noted. Lower vestibular ratio scores were observed in children who had a higher BMI (p = 0.001). Conclusion The efficient use of individual sensory system input to maintain balance does not occur at the same age. Age and gender affect the changes in sensory weighting strategies, while height and BMI influence postural control in children. These factors need to be accounted for in child assessment.
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