Evaluating the relationship between high-frequency hearing loss and front-back localization in the elderly

Sound localization is an essential ability for normal hearing listeners, aiding in the localization of objects and the detection of potential dangers, as well as enabling the extraction of target speech information in a noisy environment. However, high-frequency hearing loss, commonly observed in the elderly population, may lead to a decline in spatial localization ability. The present work evaluated the ability of horizontal localization of 60 elderly individuals in a psychoacoustic experiment and investigated the relationship between localization impairment and hearing loss in different frequency ranges. Results indicate that high-frequency hearing loss above 2 kHz has a minor impact on left-right localization, but significantly impairs front-back localization. The physical and psychoacoustic explanations are provided for the experimental observations.