Directional hearing aid microphones can degrade sound localization by attenuating lateral sounds

Evidence

These microphones are often implemented in a monaural manner and do not take into consideration their effects on the ILD. Depending on the type of directional microphone used, sounds directly to the right and to the left of the body can be attenuated. Attenuating sounds to the side of the body could be particularly damaging to the representation of the ILDs that are useful for sound localization. — Jennifer Lentz, Psychoacoustics- Perception of Normal…, 1738

Categorization

• XREF: Connects to the reader’s interest in how auditory processing differs between normal and aided impaired listeners, and how assistive technology reshapes available cues. — connects to: Microphone configuration determines whether sound origin location can be recovered — Almo Farina, Soundscape Ecology: Principles,…, 1978