Abstract
Objective To evaluate the effect of a directional microphone (beamformer) and continuous noise reduction algorithms (CNRs) in bimodally aided cochlear implant (CI) users and to find the optimum hearing aid (HA) and CI settings of the beamformer and CNRs. Methods Speech reception threshold (SRT) and acceptable noise level (ANL) were assessed in twelve adult CI users for unilateral CI, unilateral HA and bimodal listening. To assess the effect of the UltraZoom beamformer and the ClearVoice™ and NoiseBlock CNRs on SRT and ANL, speech was presented from the front in multi-source speech-shaped noise. Results With unilateral CI, application of UltraZoom resulted in a significant improvement of the median SRT and ANL by 3.8 and 4.3 dB, respectively. For bimodal listening with UltraZoom, a significant improvement of 3.5 dB in median SRT was found. There was no significant effect of using the CNRs on speech intelligibility in noise or noise tolerance in either listening condition. Conclusion UltraZoom should be applied on the CI to improve speech intelligibility in face to face conversations with multi-source background noise. However, due to the heterogeneous data, no recommendations for the settings of UltraZoom on the HA or of ClearVoice/NoiseBlock on either device can be given. Trial registration German Clinical Trials Register identifier: DRKS00010807
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