Virtual reality to create positive and timely awareness of hearing loss in middle- and secondary school

Patient education empowers patients to control their own health and care. Taking responsibility of own hearing is important for children with hearing loss to navigate effectively in noisy environments at school. However, children must never stand alone with this responsibility. Raising positive awareness about hearing might enhance teachers' and classmates’ understanding of hearing loss, making them more competent in supporting children with hearing loss to achieve the best possible listening conditions. In this study we explored how to create positive and timely awareness of hearing loss in middle- and secondary school. We developed a playful virtual reality game about the hearing sense and tested a setup that was suitable for group-use in classrooms. A total of 538 pupils between 10 and 16 years of age, including 26 children with hearing loss, participated in the study. Pupils, teachers and speech and language pathologists from the schools evaluated the game positively, and test before and after intervention showed a significant effect of learning. However, our study also highlighted that some children experience symptoms of cybersickness that shall not be ignored. Furthermore, implementing virtual reality in mainstream schools may present challenges in terms of economic costs and limited teacher resources. Educational gaming certainly has the potential to support learning in schools, but future studies must investigate if virtual reality or other digital platforms are the best solution.