title: Can unaided non-linguistic measures predict cochlear implant candidacy?
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To determine if unaided, non-linguistic psychoacoustic measures can be effective in evaluating cochlear implant (CI) candidacy.
  
  
  METHODS
  Prospective split-cohort study including predictor development subgroup and independent predictor validation subgroup.
  
  
  METHODS
  Tertiary referral center.
  
  
  METHODS
  Fifteen subjects (28 ears) with hearing loss were recruited from patients visiting the University of Washington Medical Center for CI evaluation.
  
  
  METHODS
  Spectral-ripple discrimination (using a 13-dB modulation depth) and temporal modulation detection using 10- and 100-Hz modulation frequencies were assessed with stimuli presented through insert earphones. Correlations between performance for psychoacoustic tasks and speech perception tasks were assessed. Receiver operating characteristic curve analysis was performed to estimate the optimal psychoacoustic score for CI candidacy evaluation in the development subgroup and then tested in an independent sample.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Strong correlations were observed between spectral-ripple thresholds and both aided sentence recognition and unaided word recognition. Weaker relationships were found between temporal modulation detection and speech tests. Receiver operating characteristic curve analysis demonstrated that the unaided spectral-ripple discrimination shows a good sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value, and negative predictive value compared to the current gold standard, aided sentence recognition.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Results demonstrated that the unaided spectral-ripple discrimination test could be a promising tool for evaluating CI candidacy.
authors.affiliation: *Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Eulji Medical Center, Eulji University School of Medicine, Seoul, Korea; †Department of Audiology and Speech Pathology, University of Tennessee Health Science Center, Knoxville, Tennessee, U.S.A.; ‡Department of Otorhinolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, Samsung Medical Center, Sungkyunkwan University, School of Medicine, Seoul, Korea; §Virginia Merrill Bloedel Hearing Research Center, Department of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington, U.S.A.; ∥Envoy Medical Corporation, St. Paul, Minnesota, U.S.A.; and ¶Comparative Effectiveness, Cost and Outcomes Research Center, Department of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington, U.S.A.
authors.forename: Hyun Joon
authors.initials: HJ
authors.lastname: Shim
authors.forename: Jong Ho
authors.initials: JH
authors.lastname: Won
authors.forename: Il Joon
authors.initials: IJ
authors.lastname: Moon
authors.forename: Elizabeth S
authors.initials: ES
authors.lastname: Anderson
authors.forename: Ward R
authors.initials: WR
authors.lastname: Drennan
authors.forename: Nancy E
authors.initials: NE
authors.lastname: McIntosh
authors.forename: Edward M
authors.initials: EM
authors.lastname: Weaver
authors.forename: Jay T
authors.initials: JT
authors.lastname: Rubinstein
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D019929:Cochlear Implantation; D003054:Cochlear Implants; D015331:Cohort Studies; D005260:Female; D034381:Hearing Loss / Q000601:surgery*; D006801:Humans; D008037:Linguistics; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D018579:Patient Selection; D011446:Prospective Studies; D011571:Psychoacoustics; D013067:Speech Perception; D055815:Young Adult