The Effect of Sound Localization on Auditory-Only and Audiovisual Speech Recognition in a Simulated Multitalker Environment.
Sterling W Sheffield, Harley J Wheeler, Douglas S Brungart and 1 others
PMID 37415497WHAT IT FOUND
When sound localization was degraded, participants lost the ability to turn toward a talker.
This cut their visual speech benefit by up to 30 percentage points. Poor localization also caused them to look at the wrong face, which actively reduced speech recognition.
Key findings
01Degraded localization significantly reduced audiovisual speech recognition benefits, with performance dropping by approximately 30 percentage points when localization error was high (42°) compared to low (7°).
02When participants incorrectly localized a target and looked at a distractor talker, audiovisual performance was worse than auditory-only performance due to visual interference.
03Sound localization accuracy better than 42° of error was required to obtain benefits from both visual speech cues and auditory spatial separation cues in a multitalker environment.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for SLPs
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What it does not show
Participants had less than three seconds to locate the target, simulating a fast-paced conversation rather than slower interactions where listeners have more time to search. The visual field was restricted by the head-mounted display, which may not reflect real-world peripheral vision capabilities. Target and interfering talkers were the same person, removing identity cues (like gender) that typically help listeners separate voices in natural environments. The study used normal-hearing adults with simulated localization deficits, which may not fully replicate the complex perceptual experience of individuals with actual hearing loss.
Declared interests
The authors declared no conflicts of interest. The study was supported by the Department of Defense and the National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders.
The easy way to misread this
Do not assume that visual cues always improve speech recognition. If a patient cannot localize sound accurately, they may orient toward the wrong talker, which causes visual interference and worsens performance compared to listening with ears only.