Gaze direction affects sensitivity to sounds

Listening to something while looking in a different direction can slow down reaction times while the brain works harder to suppress distractions, finds a new UCL study. In a study published in Scientific Reports , UCL researchers found that a misalignment between the direction of the eyes and the focus of auditory attention leads to slower reactions and increased listening effort. 'We frequently listen away from where our eyes are directed, such as when driving, or eavesdropping to a conversation at a party. So in this study we asked a simple question: How does the mere direction of gaze, even in the absence of visual information, affect listening'' said the study's first author, Dr Ulrich Pomper (UCL Ear Institute). 'We found that gazing away from what we are listening to is mentally taxing, and has detrimental consequences to performance.' The study design aimed to re-create a simple everyday listening situation - attempting to follow a single sound from a mixture of several - but within a controlled lab environment. The 19 study participants each sat facing three loudspeakers arranged in front of them in a darkened, soundproof room. They were instructed to follow sounds from one of the loudspeakers while ignoring sounds from the other two loudspeakers.