The effect of spatial auditory landmarks on ambulation.
Adham M Karim, Kavelin Rumalla, Laurie A King and 1 others
PMID 29241100WHAT IT FOUND
A sound source placed in front of the body reduced turning error during eyes-closed marching in place in eight young adults.
Sounds worn in the ears did not help, and sounds from the side or behind helped less.
Key findings
01With a speaker directly in front of the body, mean heading error was 3.8 degrees, compared with 31.6 degrees in silence and 28.7 degrees with sound worn in the ears.
02Sound worn in the ears did not improve heading error compared with silence.
03The benefit of an external speaker depended on its position: sounds at 45 degrees helped compared with silence, but sounds at 90, 135, and 180 degrees did not.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for PTs
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What it does not show
Only eight people participated, so the result cannot be treated as strong clinical evidence. All participants were young adults with normal hearing and vision, not patients with balance, hearing, or neurologic problems. The task was eyes-closed marching in place in a quiet carpeted room, not walking in everyday environments. Only one side of the body was tested for the angled sound positions, so the pattern for the other side is not known. No patients with vestibular loss, hearing loss, or fall risk were tested.
Declared interests
The authors declared no conflicts of interest.
The easy way to misread this
Do not conclude that any sound cue improves walking balance. Only an external speaker placed in front helped, sound worn in the ears did not, and the study included only eight healthy young adults.