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Can Vestibular Disorders Affect Spatial Hearing?
What is it about?
This study explores whether unilateral peripheral vestibular disorders can affect spatial hearing even in individuals with clinically normal hearing thresholds. We examined how well participants could understand target sounds when competing sounds were presented from the same or different spatial locations, and also assessed selected cognitive functions.
Why is it important?
The vestibular system is not only involved in balance and postural control; it also contributes to the integration of information about the position of the head and body in space with auditory spatial processing. Therefore, vestibular dysfunction may affect the ability to use spatial cues in complex listening conditions, even when pure-tone hearing thresholds are within normal limits. In this study, differences observed particularly under spatially separated listening conditions and in spatial advantage remained after controlling for age and hearing sensitivity, suggesting that these findings may not be explained solely by peripheral hearing sensitivity. This is important because routine audiological assessments may not fully capture complex listening difficulties in some individuals with vestibular disorders, and spatial hearing measures may provide complementary information to standard audiological evaluation.