Descriptors of Sound Qualities Using Images and Videos

Abstract

Abstract Objective: To examine whether the use of visual media would reduce descriptors variability among people when describing sound. Design: A within-subject, cross-modal matching design delivered as an online survey, asking participants to describe different sounds by picking from a presented visual media and by describing them in their own words. Study Sample: 150 adults (aged 20–77), speaking English fluently, residing at the United Kingdom, and having normal or corrected to normal vision. Results: Entropy analysis showed that visual media reduced variability in sound-quality descriptions for some conditions but had little or opposite effect for others. Participants significantly preferred and found media easier to use over text (p < .001). Conclusions: Visual media may support communication during hearing aid fine-tuning, but we need to develop a user-informed, empirically validated tools before clinical adoption.