Vibrotactile Detection, Identification and Directional Perception of signal-Processed Sounds from Environmental Events: A Pilot Field Evaluation in Five Cases

Objectives: Conducting field tests of a vibrotactile aid for deaf/deafblind persons for detection, identification and directional perception of environmental sounds. Methods: Five deaf (۳F/۲M, ۲۲–۳۶ years) individuals tested the aid separately in a home environment (kitchen) and in a traffic environment. Their eyes were blindfolded and they wore a headband and holding a vibrator for sound identification. In the headband, three microphones were mounted and two vibrators for signalling direction of the sound source. The sounds originated from events typical for the home environment and traffic. The subjects were inexperienced (events unknown) and experienced (events known). They identified the events in a home and traffic environment, but perceived sound source direction only in traffic. Results: The detection scores were higher than ۹۸% both in the home and in the traffic environment. In the home environment, identification scores varied between ۲۵%-۵۸% when the subjects were inexperienced and between ۳۳%-۸۳% when they were experienced. In traffic, identification scores varied between ۲۰%-۴۰% when the subjects were inexperienced and between ۲۲%-۵۶% when they were experienced. The directional perception scores varied between ۳۰%-۶۰% when inexperienced and between ۶۱%-۸۳% when experienced. Discussion: The vibratory aid consistently improved all participants’ detection, identification and directional perception ability.

کلیدواژه ها:

Deaf ، Deafblind ، Directional perception ، Environmental sound ، Tactile perception