Head movement and its relation to hearing

Abstract

Head position at any point in time plays a fundamental role in shaping the auditory information that reaches a listener, information that continuously changes as the head moves and reorients to different listening situations. The connection between hearing science and the kinesthetics of head movement has gained interest due to technological advances that have increased the feasibility of providing behavioral and biological feedback to assistive listening devices that can interpret movement patterns that reflect listening intent. Increasing evidence also shows that the negative impact of hearing deficits on mobility, gait, and balance may be mitigated by prosthetic hearing device intervention. Better understanding of the relationships between head movement, full body kinetics, and hearing health, should lead to improved signal processing strategies across a range of assistive and augmented hearing devices. The purpose of this review is to introduce the wider hearing community to the kinesiology of head movement and to place it in the context of hearing and communication with the goal of expanding the field of ecologically-specific listener behavior.

The effect of head orientation on vestibular signal-based modulation of paraspinal muscle activity during walking

“…A limitation in this study is that the averaged head rotation did not reach 90 degrees, with which EVS would produce a disturbance purely in the sagittal plane (Forbes et al ., 2016; Tisserand et al ., 2018). However, as reported elsewhere, the maximal range of head yaw rotation is between ± 60° to ± 80° with slight thorax and/or pelvis rotation in standing (Ferrario et al ., 2002; Tommasi et al ., 2009; Higgins et al ., 2023). The test conditions therefore reflect a feasible range of rotation.…”

Sound-seeking before and after hearing loss in mice

“…Although active sensing has primarily been studied in vision, touch, echolocation, and electrosensation, hearing is also an active sensorimotor process (Aytekin, Moss and Simon, 2008). In species with limited ability to move the ears independently, moving the head can optimize the collection of auditory information (Wallach, 1940; Perrett and Noble, 1997; Wightman and Kistler, 1999; Brimijoin, Boyd and Akeroyd, 2013; Yost, Torben Pastore and Dorman, 2020; Van Bentum, Van Opstal and Van Wanrooij, 2021; Higgins et al ., 2023). For instance, we might turn to face a person in order to better hear them.…”