Development of a home-based auditory training to improve speech recognition on the telephone for patients with cochlear implants: A randomised trial.
OBJECTIVE
Speech recognition on the telephone poses a challenge for patients with cochlear implants (CIs) due to a reduced bandwidth of transmission. This trial evaluates a home-based auditory training with telephone-specific filtered speech material to improve sentence recognition.


METHODS
Randomised controlled parallel double-blind.


METHODS
One tertiary referral centre.


METHODS
A total of 20 postlingually deafened patients with CIs.


METHODS
Primary outcome measure was sentence recognition assessed by a modified version of the Oldenburg Sentence Test filtered to the telephone bandwidth of 0.3-3.4 kHz. Additionally, pure tone thresholds, recognition of monosyllables and subjective hearing benefit were acquired at two separate visits before and after a home-based training period of 10-14 weeks. For training, patients received a CD with speech material, either unmodified for the unfiltered training group or filtered to the telephone bandwidth in the filtered group.


RESULTS
Patients in the unfiltered training group achieved an average sentence recognition score of 70.0%±13.6% (mean±SD) before and 73.6%±16.5% after training. Patients in the filtered training group achieved 70.7%±13.8% and 78.9%±7.0%, a statistically significant difference (P=.034, t10=2.292; two-way RM ANOVA/Bonferroni). An increase in the recognition of monosyllabic words was noted in both groups. The subjective benefit was positive for filtered and negative for unfiltered training.


CONCLUSIONS
Auditory training with specifically filtered speech material provided an improvement in sentence recognition on the telephone compared to training with unfiltered material.
Department of Otorhinolaryngology, University Medical Center Göttingen, Georg-August-University Göttingen, Göttingen, Germany.
F
http://orcid.org/0000-0001-7066-4994
F
Ihler
Department of Otorhinolaryngology, University Medical Center Göttingen, Georg-August-University Göttingen, Göttingen, Germany.
J
J
Blum
Department of Otorhinolaryngology, University Medical Center Göttingen, Georg-August-University Göttingen, Göttingen, Germany.|Division of Plastic Surgery, Department of Trauma Surgery, Orthopaedics and Plastic Surgery, University Medical Center Göttingen, Georg-August-University Göttingen, Göttingen, Germany.
G
G
Steinmetz
Department of Otorhinolaryngology, University Medical Center Göttingen, Georg-August-University Göttingen, Göttingen, Germany.
B G
http://orcid.org/0000-0002-8368-0149
BG
Weiss
Electrical Engineering and Information Engineering, University of Applied Science Offenburg, Offenburg, Germany.
S
S
Zirn
Department of Otorhinolaryngology, University Medical Center Göttingen, Georg-August-University Göttingen, Göttingen, Germany.
M
M
Canis
D000368:Aged; D001301:Audiometry, Pure-Tone; D019929:Cochlear Implantation; D003054:Cochlear Implants; D004311:Double-Blind Method; D005260:Female; D034381:Hearing Loss / Q000534:rehabilitation*; D006699:Home Care Services; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D017063:Outcome Assessment, Health Care; D013067:Speech Perception; D013689:Telephone
audiometry; auditory training; cochlear implants; correction of hearing impairment; randomised controlled trial; speech; telephone