title: Benefit of a commercially available cochlear implant processor with dual-microphone beamforming:  a multi-center study.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Previous research shows that cochlear implant users experience significant difficulty with speech perception in noisy listening situations. There is a paucity of research evaluating the potential improvement in speech recognition in noise provided by a dual-microphone directional system in a commercial implant sound processor. The primary objective of this study was to compare speech recognition in quiet and in noise for the Nucleus Freedom and Nucleus 5 CP810 sound processors set to the manufacturer's default user programs for quiet and noisy environments.
  
  
  METHODS
  Crossover with repeated-measures design.
  
  
  METHODS
  This multi-center study was conducted across four cochlear implant clinics in the United States.
  
  
  METHODS
  Thirty-five adults with unilateral Nucleus Freedom cochlear implants. All subjects had used their cochlear implant for at least 6 months and had substantial open-set word recognition as evidenced by a score of at least 40% correct on the Consonant-Nucleus-Consonant (CNC) monosyllabic word recognition test in quiet.
  
  
  METHODS
  All subjects (previous users of the Nucleus Freedom sound processor) were fitted with the Nucleus 5 sound processor. Performance was assessed while these subjects used each sound processor in the default user program the manufacturer recommends for quiet and noisy conditions.
  
  
  METHODS
  Speech recognition was assessed with CNC monosyllabic words in quiet and sentences in noise from the BKB-SIN (Bamford-Kowal-Bench Sentences in Noise) test. The data were analyzed with descriptive statistics and performance with each processor in each listening condition was compared using a repeated-measures analysis of variance.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Word recognition in quiet was significantly better with the Nucleus 5 sound processor when compared to performance with the Nucleus Freedom processor. In noise, the Nucleus 5 sound processor also provided a significant improvement in speech recognition relative to the performance with the Nucleus Freedom.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The results of the study suggest that the Nucleus 5 sound processor provides significantly better speech recognition in quiet and in noise when compared with performance with the Nucleus Freedom processor.
authors.affiliation: Hearts for Hearing, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, USA. jace.wolfe@heartsforhearing.org
authors.forename: Jace
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Wolfe
authors.forename: Aaron
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Parkinson
authors.forename: Erin C
authors.initials: EC
authors.lastname: Schafer
authors.forename: Jan
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Gilden
authors.forename: Kathy
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Rehwinkel
authors.forename: Jennifer
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Mansanares
authors.forename: Elizabeth
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Coughlan
authors.forename: Jennifer
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Wright
authors.forename: Jennifer
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Torres
authors.forename: Stephanie
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Gannaway
mesh_terms: D000161:Acoustic Stimulation; D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D019929:Cochlear Implantation; D003054:Cochlear Implants; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D034381:Hearing Loss / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000601:surgery*; D006801:Humans; D008875:Middle Aged; D009622:Noise; D013017:Sound Localization; D013067:Speech Perception / Q000502:physiology*; D013069:Speech Reception Threshold Test; D016896:Treatment Outcome; D014481:United States; D055815:Young Adult