Hemanth Narayana Shetty¹, Sankalpa Mahadev²* and Rakshit Sathyanarayana³

¹Professor in Audiology, Department of Audiology, JSSISH, Mysuru, India
²Assistant Professor, Department of Audiology, JSSISH, Mysuru, India
³Clinical Audiologist, Amplion, New Zealand

*Corresponding Author: Sankalpa Mahadev, Assistant Professor, Department of Audiology, JSSISH, Mysuru, India.

Received: December 18, 2024; Published: January 21, 2025

Abstract

Introduction: Drivers with hearing impairment rely on visual cues, which can lead to road accidents. Studies show mixed results on their driving safety. The current hearing fitness certification protocol is inadequate for assessing hearing ability in traffic conditions.

Method: The study involved 40 participants who were divided into two groups: a control group and a clinical group. The clinical group was further divided based on the severity of hearing loss, which was classified as mild, moderate to moderately severe, and severe. The study evaluated the ability of participants to locate sound and measured the degree of error. Additionally, the study assessed the participant's ability to recognize traffic signs by measuring their correct scores and average reaction time. The assessment was conducted in both unaided and aided conditions.

Results: The clinical group performed worse in locating sounds and recognizing traffic signs compared to the control group. Amplification didn't help much in locating sounds but aided the recognition of traffic signs. There was a correlation between the pure tone average and recognizing traffic signs. Regression analyses were performed to predict the degree of error, traffic sign cognitive correct scores, and the average reaction time from the pure tone average.

Conclusion: When issuing hearing fitness certificates to individuals with hearing impairment, it is recommended that they test their ability to locate sound and recognize traffic signs, in addition to the aided audiogram.

Keywords: Hearing Loss; Localization Ability; Traffic Sign Cognition

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Citation

Citation: Sankalpa Mahadev., et al. “Assessment of Sound Localization and Traffic Sign Recognition in Individuals with Hearing Impairment: Implications for Traffic Safety and Hearing Fitness Certification".Acta Scientific Otolaryngology 7.2 (2025): 16-26.

Copyright

Copyright: © 2025 Sankalpa Mahadev., et al. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.