Assessing the Impact of Spatial Audio on Cognitive Load and Memory Retention for Virtual Training Simulation in Virtual Reality

Kadel O, Rudzki T, Szirtes T, Kearney G. Assessing the Impact of Spatial Audio on Cognitive Load and Memory Retention for Virtual Training Simulation in Virtual Reality. In: AVARIG 2026: Audio for Virtual and Augmented Reality and Immersive Games. Audio Engineering Society; 2026. Paper 467. Available from: https://aes.org/publications/elibrary-page/?id=23360

@inproceedings{Kadel2026_23360,
  author = {Kadel, Oliver and Rudzki, Tomasz and Szirtes, Tom and Kearney, Gavin},
  title = {{Assessing the Impact of Spatial Audio on Cognitive Load and Memory Retention for Virtual Training Simulation in Virtual Reality}},
  booktitle = {AVARIG 2026: Audio for Virtual and Augmented Reality and Immersive Games},
  note = {Paper 467},
  year = {2026},
  month = jun,
  publisher = {Audio Engineering Society},
  url = {https://aes.org/publications/elibrary-page/?id=23360}
}

TY  - CPAPER
TI  - Assessing the Impact of Spatial Audio on Cognitive Load and Memory Retention for Virtual Training Simulation in Virtual Reality
AU  - Kadel,Oliver
AU  - Rudzki, Tomasz
AU  - Szirtes, Tom
AU  - Kearney, Gavin
T2  - AVARIG 2026: Audio for Virtual and Augmented Reality and Immersive Games
M1  - Paper 467
PY  - 2026
DA  - 2026/06/30
UR  - https://aes.org/publications/elibrary-page/?id=23360
PB  - Audio Engineering Society
LA  - en
AB  - This paper examines whether spatialised audio improves cognitive load and memory retention in Virtual Reality training. Using a commercial VR public speaking module developed by Bodyswaps, 1,350 real-world users were randomly assigned to either a standard audio (control) or fully spatialised audio with virtual acoustics (study) condition. The study ran over a three-year period, making this the largest study of its kind. Participants completed an exit survey rating five data points: comfort, concentration, realism, retention, and simulation. Of the full cohort, the 156 users (78 per condition) who completed both the module and the survey formed the analysis sample. The spatialised audio group reported consistently higher scores overall, with a statistically significant improvement in perceived comfort (p = 0:006, d 0:44). Directional improvements were also observed in realism, though this did not reach statistical significance. Gaze-time analysis revealed that the spatialised audio group spent more time looking at the primary coaching figures, suggesting that spatial audio may support sustained attentional focus on key instructional sources. The findings indicate that spatial audio design is a meaningful contributor to VR training quality, particularly in comfort and perceived realism, with promising trends for learning efficacy.
ER  -