Echolocation, where an animal bounces sounds off objects in their surroundings in lodge to navigate, may offering an alternative way for blind people to go effectually.
Bats, whales and dolphins are well known for their echolocation skills, and previous research has suggested some blind people can navigate in this mode also, by making clicking noises with their mouths. Researchers from Durham University therefore wanted to observe out how easily the visually dumb could learn this skill, and if age would take an issue.
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In a ten-week training programme, 12 blind and fourteen sighted volunteers anile between 21 and 79 were taught click-based echolocation, where they were trained in discriminating the size of objects, orientation perception and virtual navigation.
Past the terminate of the training, the volunteers had improved their ability to navigate using mouth clicks, and some individuals even performed comparably to expert echolocators who had been using oral fissure clicks on a daily basis for 10 years.
Encouragingly, neither age nor blindness were limiting factors in how well the participants could learn to echolocate, suggesting that the training could be used to help rehabilitate people in the early stages of vision loss.
"People who took function in our study reported that the grooming in click-based echolocation had a positive consequence on their mobility, independence and wellbeing, attesting that the improvements we observed in the lab transcended into positive life benefits outside the lab," said Dr Lore Thaler, who led the research.
"We are very excited about this and experience that it would make sense to provide data and training in click-based echolocation to people who may yet have good functional vision, just who are expected to lose vision later in life considering of progressive degenerative eye conditions."
While click-based echolocation is not currently taught to blind or partially sighted people as part of their rehabilitation, mayhap due to perceived concerns of social stigma effectually making the required clicks, the results of this study indicate that people were confident making the noises in social situations. In fact, in a follow-up survey, all bullheaded participants reported improved mobility after carrying out the training, and 83 per cent said they had better independence and wellbeing.
"I cannot think of any other work with blind participants that has had such enthusiastic feedback," Thaler said.
Authors
Managing editor, BBC Science Focus
Alice is the managing editor at BBC Science Focus Magazine. She has a BSc in zoology with marine zoology. Her interests include natural history, wildlife, the outdoors, health and fitness.
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