Self-Reported Spatial Hearing and Blindness

Abstract

Considerable research indicates that spatial hearing in people who are blind is similar to or better than that of people who are sighted. Of particular relevance to everyday function is an individual's self-assessment of sound localization skills. In the present study, questionnaire responses by people with self-reported blindness and normal hearing indicated high self-ratings of spatial hearing skills among those who responded to the survey. Ratings for several spatial hearing situations were compared with ratings obtained from a different study of sighted individuals.