Comparative Assessment of Spatial and Temporal Resolutions in the Localization of an Approaching and Receding Broadband Noise Source in Healthy Subjects and Patients with First-degree Symmetric Sensorineural Hearing Loss

Comparative assessment of the spatial and temporal resolutions of hearing for stationary and moving sound images was performed in free field for 12 normally hearing listeners and 12 patients with symmetric sensorineural hearing loss of the first degree. It has been shown that the spatial resolution in patients with hearing loss is not changed during localization of stationary sound images, while the temporal and spatial thresholds of a moving sound source localization vary. In different patients, they may coincide with the data obtained for the group of normally hearing subjects or may be several times higher. One of the reasons for this variability may be temporal auditory analysis impairment. A correlation of the characteristics of moving sound images localization revealed in patients with hearing loss indicates different degrees of central auditory system impairment in patients with similar tonal audiograms.