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J Am Acad Audiol 2021; 32(07): 469-476
DOI: 10.1055/s-0041-1735252
Research Article

Comparison of Speech Recognition in Cochlear Implant Users with Different Speech Processors

Maria Madalena Canina Pinheiro
1   Department of Speech-Language Pathology and Audiology, Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina, Florianópolis, Brazil
,
Patricia Cotta Mancini
2   Department of Speech-Language Pathology and Audiology, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte, Brazil
,
Alexandra Dezani Soares
3   Centro do Deficiente Auditivo – Hospital São Paulo, Universidade Federal de São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil
,
Ângela Ribas
4   Centro de Implante Coclear do Hospital Pequeno Príncipe, Curitiba, Paraná, Brazil
,
Danielle Penna Lima
5   Centro de Implantes Cocleares do Hospital do Coração de Natal, Natal, Brazil
,
Marcia Cavadas
6   Department of Speech-Language Pathology and Audiology, Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
7   Equipe Sonora, Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
,
Marcos Roberto Banhara
8   Centro Especializado de Reabilitação IV do Hospital Santo Antônio/Obras Sociais Irmã Dulce, Salvador, Bahia, Brazil
,
Sirley Alves da Silva Carvalho
2   Department of Speech-Language Pathology and Audiology, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte, Brazil
,
Byanka Cagnacci Buzo
9   Cochlear Latino America, Panama City, Panama
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Abstract

Background Speech recognition in noisy environments is a challenge for both cochlear implant (CI) users and device manufacturers. CI manufacturers have been investing in technological innovations for processors and researching strategies to improve signal processing and signal design for better aesthetic acceptance and everyday use.

Purpose This study aimed to compare speech recognition in CI users using off-the-ear (OTE) and behind-the-ear (BTE) processors.

Design A cross-sectional study was conducted with 51 CI recipients, all users of the BTE Nucleus 5 (CP810) sound processor. Speech perception performances were compared in quiet and noisy conditions using the BTE sound processor Nucleus 5 (N5) and OTE sound processor Kanso. Each participant was tested with the Brazilian-Portuguese version of the hearing in noise test using each sound processor in a randomized order. Three test conditions were analyzed with both sound processors: (i) speech level fixed at 65 decibel sound pressure level in a quiet, (ii) speech and noise at fixed levels, and (iii) adaptive speech levels with a fixed noise level. To determine the relative performance of OTE with respect to BTE, paired comparison analyses were performed.

Results The paired t-tests showed no significant difference between the N5 and Kanso in quiet conditions. In all noise conditions, the performance of the OTE (Kanso) sound processor was superior to that of the BTE (N5), regardless of the order in which they were used. With the speech and noise at fixed levels, a significant mean 8.1 percentage point difference was seen between Kanso (78.10%) and N5 (70.7%) in the sentence scores.

Conclusion CI users had a lower signal-to-noise ratio and a higher percentage of sentence recognition with the OTE processor than with the BTE processor.

Keywords

cochlear implants - speech perception - speech recognition

Disclaimer

Any mention of a product, service, or procedure in the Journal of the American Academy of Audiology does not constitute an endorsement of the product, service, or procedure by the American Academy of Audiology.




Publication History

Received: 22 May 2020

Accepted: 27 April 2021

Article published online:
30 November 2021

© 2021. American Academy of Audiology. This article is published by Thieme.

Thieme Medical Publishers, Inc.
333 Seventh Avenue, 18th Floor, New York, NY 10001, USA

 

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