Enhancement of interaural level differences improves sound localization in bimodal hearing

Abstract

Users of a cochlear implant together with a contralateral hearing aid-so-called bimodal listeners-have difficulties with localizing sound sources. This is mainly due to the distortion of interaural time and level difference cues (ITD and ILD), and limited ITD sensitivity. An algorithm is presented that enhances ILD cues. Horizontal plane sound-source localization performance of six bimodal listeners was evaluated in (1) a real sound field with their clinical devices, (2) in a virtual sound field, under direct computer control, and (3) in a virtual sound field with ILD enhancement. The results in the real sound field did not differ significantly from the results in the virtual field, and ILD enhancement improved localization performance by 4°-10° absolute error, relative to a mean absolute error of 28° in the condition without ILD enhancement.