Web-based remote testing as a viable option for measuring binaural hearing abilities

Abstract

Web-based remote testing can increase access to clinically diverse populations in hearing research. However, whether remote testing affects data quality compared to in-lab testing is unknown. Data for binaural hearing tasks may be particularly vulnerable to commercial-grade hardware limitations and background noise from the testing environment. We replicated two published studies on binaural hearing abilities using a web-based behavioral experimental platform (Gorilla.sc). In Experiment 1, we replicated an experiment by Goupell et al. [JASA 133(4) (2013)] that tested intra-cranial lateralization to interaural time and level difference cues. In Experiment 2, we replicated an experiment by Goupell et al. [JASA 140(3) (2016)] that investigated binaural and contralateral unmasking of speech. Two groups of college-aged young adults were tested: one with verified normal hearing (NH) and one with self-reported NH. Testing took place in participants’ homes using their own computer and audio hardware. Performance was compared between the two groups of participants as well as with published data collected in-lab. For both experiments, performance was similar for in-lab and web-based remote testing. We found no effect of verified versus self-reported NH. These results suggest that remote testing may be a feasible option for binaural hearing experiments. [Work funded by NIH-NIDCD.]