title: Reverberation negatively impacts musical sound quality for cochlear implant users.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Satisfactory musical sound quality remains a challenge for many cochlear implant (CI) users. In particular, questionnaires completed by CI users suggest that reverberation due to room acoustics can negatively impact their music listening experience. The objective of this study was to more specifically characterize of the effect of reverberation on musical sound quality in CI users, normal hearing (NH) non-musicians, and NH musicians using a previously designed assessment method, called Cochlear Implant-MUltiple Stimulus with Hidden Reference and Anchor (CI-MUSHRA).
  
  
  METHODS
  In this method, listeners were randomly presented with an anechoic musical segment and five-versions of this segment in which increasing amounts of reverberation were artificially added. Participants listened to the six reverberation versions and provided sound quality ratings between 0 (very poor) and 100 (excellent).
  
  
  RESULTS
  Results demonstrated that on average CI users and NH non-musicians preferred the sound quality of anechoic versions to more reverberant versions. In comparison, NH musicians could be delineated into those who preferred the sound quality of anechoic pieces and those who preferred pieces with some reverberation.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  This is the first study, to our knowledge, to objectively compare the effects of reverberation on musical sound quality ratings in CI users. These results suggest that musical sound quality for CI users can be improved by non-reverberant listening conditions and musical stimuli in which reverberation is removed.
authors.forename: Alexis T
authors.initials: AT
authors.lastname: Roy
authors.forename: Michelle
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Vigeant
authors.forename: Tina
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Munjal
authors.forename: Courtney
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Carver
authors.forename: Patpong
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Jiradejvong
authors.forename: Charles J
authors.initials: CJ
authors.lastname: Limb
mesh_terms: D000161:Acoustic Stimulation / Q000379:methods; D000328:Adult; D001307:Auditory Perception; D019929:Cochlear Implantation; D003054:Cochlear Implants / Q000523:psychology*; D005260:Female; D064368:Healthy Volunteers; D034381:Hearing Loss / Q000523:psychology* / Q000601:surgery; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009146:Music / Q000523:psychology*; D011897:Random Allocation; D013016:Sound / Q000009:adverse effects*; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: cochlear implants; music perception; sound quality