This talk presents a multi-part study investigating the effects of hearing loss and hearing aid use on environmental soundscape perception. In the first study, participants rated environmental sounds across standard categories (nature, animals, humans, machines) using soundscape circumplex attributes (pleasant, eventful). Participants with hearing loss showed muted attribute ratings, partially but incompletely restored with hearing aids. Sound category was the strongest predictor of ratings, with the strongest ratings given to animal and nature sounds. Sound identification and temporal distortion had small effects, suggesting spectral characteristics primarily drive ratings. Participants then completed one week of ecological momentary assessment, rating environmental sounds in daily life. Real-world ratings showed no group differences, though hearing aid users rated sounds more strongly when wearing their devices. Lab ratings showed only modest correspondence to real-world ratings, demonstrating that environmental sound perception is tied to context. In a second study, participants rated soundscapes across New York City. The circumplex model held for listeners with hearing loss but less robustly than for normal-hearing listeners. Hearing loss shifted soundscape perception most prominently from vibrant to chaotic. These studies suggest that the effects of hearing loss on soundscape perception depend strongly on both individual sound characteristics and their contexts.
Learning Objectives:
- Describe the standard soundscape model and how it maps to auditory perceptual attributes.
- Explain how hearing loss affects attribute ratings of different types of environmental sounds, in the lab and in the real world.
- Describe some acoustic and contextual reasons why environmental sound ratings may differ between listeners with hearing loss and normal hearing.
- Apply results to patient interactions.
