title: Relationship between multipulse integration and speech recognition with cochlear implants.
abstract: Comparisons of performance with cochlear implants and postmortem conditions in the cochlea in humans have shown mixed results. The limitations in those studies favor the use of within-subject designs and non-invasive measures to estimate cochlear conditions. One non-invasive correlate of cochlear health is multipulse integration, established in an animal model. The present study used this measure to relate neural health in human cochlear implant users to their speech recognition performance. The multipulse-integration slopes were derived based on psychophysical detection thresholds measured for two pulse rates (80 and 640 pulses per second). A within-subject design was used in eight subjects with bilateral implants where the direction and magnitude of ear differences in the multipulse-integration slopes were compared with those of the speech-recognition results. The speech measures included speech reception threshold for sentences and phoneme recognition in noise. The magnitude of ear difference in the integration slopes was significantly correlated with the magnitude of ear difference in speech reception thresholds, consonant recognition in noise, and transmission of place of articulation of consonants. These results suggest that multipulse integration predicts speech recognition in noise and perception of features that use dynamic spectral cues.
authors.affiliation: Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders, East Carolina University, Greenville, North Carolina 27834.
authors.forename: Ning
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Zhou
authors.affiliation: Kresge Hearing Research Institute, Department of Otolaryngology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan 48109-5616.
authors.forename: Bryan E
authors.initials: BE
authors.lastname: Pfingst
mesh_terms: D000161:Acoustic Stimulation; D000368:Aged; D001309:Auditory Threshold; D019929:Cochlear Implantation / Q000295:instrumentation*; D003054:Cochlear Implants; D003463:Cues; D004558:Electric Stimulation; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009622:Noise / Q000009:adverse effects; D010470:Perceptual Masking; D019986:Persons with Hearing Disabilities / Q000523:psychology / Q000534:rehabilitation*; D011571:Psychoacoustics; D021641:Recognition, Psychology; D013067:Speech Perception; D013069:Speech Reception Threshold Test; D055815:Young Adult