Across-site threshold variation in cochlear implants: relation to speech recognition.
Functional implications of across-site variation in detection thresholds in subjects with cochlear implants were evaluated by comparing thresholds to speech recognition performance. Detection thresholds for bipolar (BP) and monopolar (MP) stimulation of all available stimulation sites were assessed in 21 subjects with Nucleus CI24M and CI24R(CS) implants. We found significant negative correlations between speech recognition and within-subject across-site threshold variance for both BP and MP stimulation, but no significant correlation of speech recognition with mean threshold levels. These results suggest that across-site variance of detection thresholds could provide a useful early indication of the prognosis for speech recognition and might serve as an indicator for specific therapeutic approaches in individual subjects.
Department of Otolaryngology, Kresge Hearing Research Institute, University of Michigan Health System, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, USA. bpfingst@umich.edu
Bryan E
BE
Pfingst
Li
L
Xu
Catherine S
CS
Thompson
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D001309:Auditory Threshold; D003054:Cochlear Implants; D003638:Deafness / Q000503:physiopathology* / Q000628:therapy*; D006801:Humans; D008875:Middle Aged; D011601:Psychophysics; D013067:Speech Perception