Binaural redundancy and inter-aural time difference cues for patients wearing a cochlear implant and a hearing aid in opposite ears.
We investigated speech perception advantages arising from the use of inter-aural time difference cues, and from the provision of redundant information by the use of a hearing aid contralateral to a cochlear implant (bimodal hearing devices). Thirty-eight subjects (14 normally hearing and 23 hearing-impaired) participated in this study. The effect of binaural redundancy was assessed by comparing the signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) required for 50% correct identification of sentences in noise when listening monaurally to that when listening binaurally. The use of inter-aural time difference cues was determined by comparing the binaural SNRs obtained with or without a noise delay of 700 micros between ears. Results indicated adults who used bimodal hearing devices benefited from binaural redundancy, but children did not. Whereas normally hearing subjects used inter-aural time difference cues to improve speech perception in noise, neither adults nor children who used bimodal hearing devices were able to do so.
Ching
Teresa Y C
TY
National Acoustic Laboratories, NSW, Australia. Teresa.Ching@nal.gov.au
van Wanrooy
Emma
E
Hill
Mandy
M
Dillon
Harvey
H
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D001309:Auditory Threshold; D002648:Child; D003054:Cochlear Implants; D003463:Cues; D005260:Female; D006310:Hearing Aids; D006312:Hearing Loss, Bilateral / Q000628:therapy*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D013067:Speech Perception; D013069:Speech Reception Threshold Test; D013997:Time Factors