{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,30]],"date-time":"2026-09-30T20:34:31Z","timestamp":1790800471499,"version":"4.1.0"},"reference-count":39,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"4","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2025,7,9]],"date-time":"2025-07-09T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1752019200000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"name":"Italian Ministry of Health"}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Audiology Research"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Background\/Objectives: Unilateral hearing loss (UHL), particularly single-sided deafness (SSD), disrupts spatial hearing in children, leading to academic and social challenges. This study aimed to (1) compare azimuthal sound-localization accuracy and compensatory strategies between children with single-sided deafness (SSD) and their normal-hearing (NH) peers within a virtual reality environment, and (2) investigate sound-localization performance across various azimuths by contrasting left-SSD (L-SSD) and right-SSD (R-SSD) groups. Methods: A cohort of 44 participants (20 NH, 24 SSD) performed sound localization tasks in a 3D virtual environment. Unsigned azimuth error (UAE), unsigned elevation error (UEE), and head movement distance were analyzed across six azimuthal angles (\u221275\u00b0 to 75\u00b0) at 0\u00b0elevation. Non-parametric statistics (Mann\u2013Whitney U tests, Holm\u2013Bonferroni correction) compared performance between NH and SSD groups and within SSD subgroups (L-SSD vs. R-SSD). Results: The SSD group exhibited significantly higher UAE (mean: 22.4\u00b0 vs. 3.69\u00b0, p &lt; 0.0001), UEE (mean: 5.95\u00b0 vs. 3.77\u00b0, p &lt; 0.0001) and head movement distance (mean: 0.35\u00b0 vs. 0.12\u00b0, p &lt; 0.0001) compared with NH peers, indicating persistent localization deficits and compensatory effort. Within the SSD group, elevation performance was superior to azimuthal accuracy (mean UEE: 3.77\u00b0 vs. mean UAE: 22.4\u00b0). Participants with R-SSD exhibited greater azimuthal errors at rightward angles (45\u00b0and 75\u00b0) and at \u221215\u00b0, as well as increased elevation errors at 75\u00b0. Hemifield-specific advantages were strongest at extreme lateral angles (75\u00b0). Conclusions: Children with SSD rely on insufficient compensatory head movements to resolve monaural spatial ambiguity in order to localize sounds. Localization deficits and the effort associated with localization task call for action in addressing these issues in dynamic environments such as the classroom. L-SSD subjects outperformed R-SSD peers, highlighting hemispheric specialization in spatial hearing and the need to study its neural basis to develop targeted rehabilitation and classroom support. The hemifield advantages described in this study call for further data collection and research on the topic.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/audiolres15040085","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2025,7,11]],"date-time":"2025-07-11T15:19:31Z","timestamp":1752247171000},"page":"85","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":3,"title":["Evaluating Auditory Localization Capabilities in Young Patients with Single-Side Deafness"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"15","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-3907-5950","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Alessandro","family":"Aruffo","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Institute for Maternal and Child Health\u2014IRCCS Burlo Garofolo, 34137 Trieste, Italy"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Giovanni","family":"Nicoli","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Institute for Maternal and Child Health\u2014IRCCS Burlo Garofolo, 34137 Trieste, Italy"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-0155-880X","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Marta","family":"Fantoni","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Institute for Maternal and Child Health\u2014IRCCS Burlo Garofolo, 34137 Trieste, Italy"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Raffaella","family":"Marchi","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Institute for Maternal and Child Health\u2014IRCCS Burlo Garofolo, 34137 Trieste, Italy"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Edoardo","family":"Carini","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Institute for Maternal and Child Health\u2014IRCCS Burlo Garofolo, 34137 Trieste, Italy"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-7465-1066","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Eva","family":"Orzan","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Institute for Maternal and Child Health\u2014IRCCS Burlo Garofolo, 34137 Trieste, Italy"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2025,7,9]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"617","DOI":"10.1016\/j.ijporl.2013.01.014","article-title":"A review of unilateral hearing loss and academic performance: Is it time to reassess traditional dogmata?","volume":"77","author":"Kuppler","year":"2013","journal-title":"Int. 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