Gaming and Hearing Study

This project covers studies exploring how computer games can be used in our research.

Action Video Game Players

In collaboration with C. Shawn Green, University of Wisconsin-Madison, we assessed action video game players’ auditory cognition and perception, specifically their speech-in-noise abilities. It has been shown extensively that gamers who play first- and third-person shooters have superior visual cognition and perception abilities. We found that this effect did not cross into the auditory domain. However, the way our participants interact with audio in computer games differed greatly from how they interact with the visual elements. The majority of our participants listened to other audio sources during gaming (e.g., podcasts, tv, group-chat). The few that did listen to their games’ sounds did not use surround sound technology.

Reference: Stewart, H. J., Martinez, J., Perdew, A., Green, C. S., & Moore, D. R. (2020) Auditory cognition and perception of action video game players. Scientific Reports, 10(1), 1-11.

Virtual Reality

We are developing a virtual reality speech-in-noise assessment for children. This project is currently in the software development stage with Game Theory co. (https://www.gametheoryco.com/vr-hearing). We will be comparing how children perform in a normal testing environment to virtual reality with the Oculus Rift and Go headsets.

This study is funded by Action on Hearing Loss and National Science Foundation: Engaging Learning Network.