The Virtual Reality Lab: Realization and Application of Virtual Sound Environments.
Volker Hohmann, Richard Paluch, Melanie Krueger and 2 others
PMID 33105257WHAT IT FOUND
In hearing aid users and normal-hearing people, virtual sound environments felt louder and more annoying than real life, while localization was similar.
The lab partly reflects real listening but may not recreate active communication.
Key findings
01Loudness and annoyance were higher in the virtual lab than in the real environment for several sounds.
02The localization differences that were examined were not statistically significant.
03Participants behaved less actively in the lab than in the field, with passive listening predominant.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for SLPs
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What it does not show
The comparison included only seven people in each group, so it is small and may not represent broader clinical populations. The virtual lab used a restricted field of view of 120 degrees, and the animated characters had limited lip-syncing, facial expressions, and body gestures. Loudness and annoyance were higher in the lab than in the field, so the virtual environment did not reproduce real-life sound perception exactly. The lab task was mainly passive listening rather than two-way conversation, so it may not reflect the involvement people have in everyday communication. The authors developed the virtual reality lab and are reporting its use, so independent confirmation is still needed.
Declared interests
The authors declared no conflicts of interest. Funding came from public research agencies, a European Union Horizon 2020 programme, and a study foundation, not from a hearing device company.
The easy way to misread this
Do not conclude that this virtual reality lab is validated for hearing aid assessment or that its results match real life. The study found that sounds were louder and more annoying in the lab than in the field, and participants behaved more passively than in real life.