Researchers are using computer games to assist children with severe hearing loss in improving their ability to localize sounds and understand speech.
The project Bears is targeted towards young individuals who have limited hearing and have received cochlear implants in both ears.
Lorenzo Picinari, a scientist and acoustic engineer at Imperial College London, stated, “These children have profound hearing loss and require extensive interventions to restore their hearing. Computer games have been found to enhance the effectiveness of these interventions.”
One game involves players wearing virtual reality headsets operating a food stall and earning points for completing orders. The speed at which requests come in increases, with background noise becoming louder and more confusing. Picinari explained, “This challenging game helps children improve their sound localization skills, aiding in speech comprehension.”
Research indicates that better sound localization leads to improved speech understanding, especially in noisy environments.
Picinari added, “By utilizing computer games, we can enhance sound localization abilities and, consequently, enhance speech understanding.”
Factors like head size and ear shape can impact how individuals perceive sound.
Innovations at Imperial include games where children identify targets based on acoustic clues and aim at objects emitting sounds of varying pitches.
Children with cochlear implants were involved in game design, playing a crucial role in the project’s development.
While hearing aids amplify sound, they are not as effective for severe hearing loss as cochlear implants, which convert sounds into electrical signals for the brain to interpret.
Despite the benefits of cochlear implants, wearers may struggle with distorted sounds and speech understanding in noisy settings.
Training with computer games can help children adapt to the signals from cochlear implants and improve their hearing capabilities.
The project aims to recruit over 300 young people with hearing loss and hopes to positively impact the hearing abilities of deaf children across the UK.
Katarina Pool, a member of the Imperial team, mentioned, “This research could significantly improve the lives of thousands of children with severe hearing loss.”
Source: www.theguardian.com
