Background

It has been shown that sensory skills, specifically spatial hearing ones (e.g. the ability to precisely locate a sound source in the surrounding space), can be improved with training. In order to create controllable and highly realistic training environments and tasks, Virtual Reality (VR) has been used in the past to create audio-visual simulations and implement specific training routines. Nevertheless, the assessment of the improvement produced by the training is often carried out within the VR domain, raising potential doubts regarding the transferability of the learnt skills to real life, and the distinction between perceptual and procedural learning.

Objectives

1. Design, implement and explore different VR-based spatial hearing training tasks and routines.
2. Design, implement and explore VR-based and real-life methods and procedures for assessing the extent of the spatial hearing training, focusing on the separation between procedural and perceptual learning.
3. Use these tools to assess and quantify the transferability of learnt spatial hearing skills from VR to real life, specifically for bilateral CI user.