Abstract
The addition of amplified low frequency hearing to cochlear implants has been shown to provide substantial performance benefits for cochlear implant (CI) users, particularly in noise. In the current study, we examined the extent to which the presence of visual information (facial movement during speech) augments perception for CI listeners with electroacoustic stimulation (EAS). Two experiments were conducted. In the first one, participants transcribed semantically anomalous phrases in quiet and noise. Intelligibility results showed modest improvements in intelligibility for low and high levels of noise, and dramatic gains (30+ percentage points) in midlevel noise. Error analyses conducted on the transcripts further suggest that the perceptual benefits extended beyond articulatory place information to that of facilitating lexical segmentation. In the second experiment, participants were tested on their recognition of words in sentences corrupted by noise. Results showed significant benefit of hearing aids in EAS patients. However, the benefit of acoustic hearing was not apparent when visual information was available. Our results will provide guidance for auditory rehabilitation strategies in this population.
Published Version
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