
ERIC Number: EJ725807
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2005-Jun-1
Pages: 13
Abstractor: Author
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-1092-4388
EISSN: N/A
Benefit of Wearing a Hearing Aid on the Unimplanted Ear in Adult Users of a Cochlear Implant
Dunn, Camille C.; Tyler, Richard S.; Witt, Shelley A.
Journal of Speech, Language, and Hearing Research, v48 n3 p668 Jun 2005
The purpose of this investigation was to document performance of participants wearing a cochlear implant and hearing aid in opposite ears on speech-perception and localization tests. Twelve individuals who wore a cochlear implant and a hearing aid on contralateral ears were tested on their abilities to understand words in quiet and sentences in noise, and to localize everyday sounds. All speech stimuli were presented from the front, with the noise stimuli presented from the front, the right, or the left at a 90[degrees] angle. Binaural summation in quiet and in noise, binaural squelch effects, and localization were studied to determine bilateral advantages. The magnitude of the monaural head shadow effect (the difference in unilateral performance when noise was facing the unilateral device vs. when the noise was opposite the unilateral device) also was studied. The test setup for localization was composed of an 8-speaker array spanning an arc of approximately 108[degrees] in front of each participant. Group results yielded a statistically significant combined benefit of wearing a hearing aid in conjunction with a cochlear implant on opposite ears in noise conditions. Those participants who received a binaural advantage in 1 condition did not necessarily show a binaural advantage in another. Only 2 participants out of 12 were able to localize when wearing 2 devices. Further efforts are required to improve the integration of information from combined use of cochlear implant and hearing aid devices for enhancement of speech perception in noise and localization.
Descriptors: Auditory Stimuli, Auditory Perception, Sensory Aids, Auditory Evaluation, Auditory Tests, Adults, Hearing Impairments, Listening Comprehension, Speech
American Speech-Language-Hearing Association, 10801 Rockville Pike, Rockville, MD 20852. Tel: 301-897-5700, ext. 4164; Fax: 301-897-7348.
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A