Speech Recognition Skills Research Articles

A Scoping Review and Meta-Analysis of the Relations Between Cognition and Cochlear Implant Outcomes and the Effect of Quiet Versus Noise Testing Conditions.

Evidence continues to emerge of associations between cochlear implant (CI) outcomes and cognitive functions in postlingually deafened adults. While there are multiple factors that appear to affect these associations, the impact of speech recognition background testing conditions (i.e., in quiet versus noise) has not been systematically explored. The two aims of this study were to (1) identify associations between speech recognition following cochlear implantation and performance on cognitive tasks, and to (2) investigate the impact of speech testing in quiet versus noise on these associations. Ultimately, we want to understand the conditions that impact this complex relationship between CI outcomes and cognition. A scoping review following Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses guidelines was performed on published literature evaluating the relation between outcomes of cochlear implantation and cognition. The current review evaluates 39 papers that reported associations between over 30 cognitive assessments and speech recognition tests in adult patients with CIs. Six cognitive domains were evaluated: Global Cognition, Inhibition-Concentration, Memory and Learning, Controlled Fluency, Verbal Fluency, and Visuospatial Organization. Meta-analysis was conducted on three cognitive assessments among 12 studies to evaluate relations with speech recognition outcomes. Subgroup analyses were performed to identify whether speech recognition testing in quiet versus in background noise impacted its association with cognitive performance. Significant associations between cognition and speech recognition in a background of quiet or noise were found in 69% of studies. Tests of Global Cognition and Inhibition-Concentration skills resulted in the highest overall frequency of significant associations with speech recognition (45% and 57%, respectively). Despite the modest proportion of significant associations reported, pooling effect sizes across samples through meta-analysis revealed a moderate positive correlation between tests of Global Cognition ( r = +0.37, p < 0.01) as well as Verbal Fluency ( r = +0.44, p < 0.01) and postoperative speech recognition skills. Tests of Memory and Learning are most frequently utilized in the setting of CI (in 26 of 39 included studies), yet meta-analysis revealed nonsignificant associations with speech recognition performance in a background of quiet ( r = +0.30, p = 0.18), and noise ( r = -0.06, p = 0.78). Background conditions of speech recognition testing may influence the relation between speech recognition outcomes and cognition. The magnitude of this effect of testing conditions on this relationship appears to vary depending on the cognitive construct being assessed. Overall, Global Cognition and Inhibition-Concentration skills are potentially useful in explaining speech recognition skills following cochlear implantation. Future work should continue to evaluate these relations to appropriately unify cognitive testing opportunities in the setting of cochlear implantation.

Middle Ear Fibrosis Contributes to Hearing Loss in Patients With Myhre Syndrome.

Myhre syndrome (MS) is a rare genetic condition that presents with multiple genetic anomalies including cleft lip and palate and Eustachian tube dysfunction. These patients are at a high risk for airway scarring from intubation and mucosal inflammation. Hearing loss (conductive or mixed, of varying severity) is a common comorbidity in these patients, the exact etiology of which is still unclear. We present the cases of 2 unrelated children with MS who suffered progressive mixed hearing loss from fibrosis and obliteration of the middle ear spaces. Both patients had multiple sets of ear tubes that demonstrated early extrusion. The older patient underwent bone conduction implantation at age 11 which resulted in dramatic improvement of speech recognition and interactive skills. The other younger patient demonstrates a similar trajectory but has not yet undergone implantation. Otolaryngologists should take a cautious approach to surgery of the eardrum and middle ear to avoid unnecessary induction of fibrosis in this susceptible patient population. These cases highlight a newly described etiology for hearing loss and suggest a benefit to bone conduction implantation.

Association of domain-general speed of information processing with spoken language outcomes in prelingually-deaf children with cochlear implants

Spoken language development after pediatric cochlear implantation requires rapid and efficient processing of novel, degraded auditory signals and linguistic information. These demands for rapid adaptation tax the information processing speed ability of children who receive cochlear implants. This study investigated the association of speed of information processing ability with spoken language outcomes after cochlear implantation in prelingually deaf children aged 4–6 years. Two domain-general (visual, non-linguistic) speed of information processing measures were administered to 21 preschool-aged children with cochlear implants and 23 normal-hearing peers. Measures of speech recognition, language (vocabulary and comprehension), nonverbal intelligence, and executive functioning skills were also obtained from each participant. Speed of information processing was positively associated with speech recognition and language skills in preschool-aged children with cochlear implants but not in normal-hearing peers. This association remained significant after controlling for hearing group, age, nonverbal intelligence, and executive functioning skills. These findings are consistent with models suggesting that domain-general, fast-efficient information processing speed underlies adaptation to speech perception and language learning following implantation. Assessment and intervention strategies targeting speed of information processing may provide better understanding and development of speech-language skills after cochlear implantation.

Evaluation of the Effect of Musical Perception Activities on Speech Perception in Adult Cochlear Implant Users.

This study aimed to evaluate clinical musical perception, analyze the relationship between speech recognition and music perception, and investigate the effects of a three-month musical perception activities on these parameters in adult cochlear implant (CI) users with post-lingual hearing loss. Free-field hearing and speech tests in a quiet environment, the Turkish matrix test, and the Turkish version of the clinical assessment of musical perception test were performed on 18 adult unilateral CI users before and after the three-month music training. Results were compared with those of 18 healthy controls. Prior to the musical perception activities, word recognition scores, Turkish matrix test results, and 500, 1000, and 6000 Hz free-field hearing thresholds were significantly correlated with the clinical assessment of musical perception test scores in the CI group (p<0.047). Timbre recognition scores (p=0.019) had improved significantly in the CI group after the three-month musical perception activities. On the other hand, timbre recognition scores had significantly affected the Turkish matrix test results (R2adjusted=0.56). Our study showed that speech perception in noise and clinical musical perception measurements affected each other in CI users. The inclusion of musical perception activities to support an auditory rehabilitation program may contribute to increased speech recognition skills in noise.

Improvement of automatic speech recognition skills of linguistics students through using ukrainian-english and ukrainian-german subtitles in publicistic movies

The increased world's attention to foreign language studies facilitates the development and improvement of its study system in higher education institutions. Such a system takes into account and promptly responds to the demands of today's multicultural society. All should start with the transformation and modernization of the higher education system. This system includes the introduction of innovative technologies in the study of English and German, which should be focused on the modern demands of the world labor market. All this has determined the relevance of the research. This article aims to establish ways for students to gain automatic recognition skills through subtitling Ukrainian-English and Ukrainian-German publicistic movies and series. The first assessment of new language audio and video corpus was developed at the Admiral Makarov National University of Shipbuilding, using an automatic subtitling mechanism to improve linguistics students' recognition and understanding of oral speech. The skills and abilities that improved during the work with the educational movie corpus have been identified.

Validation of the Maltese Adaptive Auditory Speech Test (AAST).

The Adaptive Auditory Speech Test (AAST) was developed to record the Speech Recognition Threshold (SRT) in children in quiet or with background noise. AAST is an interlingually valid and reliable standardised tool with speech material developed in several languages. The Maltese version of the Adaptive Auditory Speech Test (AAST) was developed to examine the speech recognition skills of 208 children and 40 Maltese-speaking adults in quiet, noise and high frequency. The aims were to determine the norms in these three settings in adults and children aged 4 years and older. The Maltese version of AAST confirms an age dependent norm threshold with a significant improvement in threshold being observed as children grow older, similar to other AAST versions. This was evident across the three test settings. An approximate difference of 10 dB was also noted between 4-year-old and 10-year-old children in AAST in quiet. Thresholds of 10-year-olds and adults were similar in both the quiet and high frequency versions. Implications for post Universal Newborn Hearing Screening using these tools are addressed.

Evaluating the Effectiveness of a New Auditory Training Program on the Speech Recognition Skills and Auditory Event-Related Potentials in Elderly Hearing Aid Users

Introduction: The objective of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of a new auditory training (AT) program on the speech recognition in the noise and on the auditory event-related potentials in elderly hearing aid users. Methods: Thirty-three elderly individuals using hearing aids aged from 60 to 80 years participated. A new AT program was developed for the study. AT program lasts for 8 weeks and includes sound discrimination exercises and cognitive exercises. Seventeen individuals (mean age 72.17 ± 6.94) received AT and 16 individuals (mean age 71.75 ± 6.81) did not receive AT. The mismatch negativity (MMN) test and matrix test were used to evaluate the effectiveness of AT. Tests were conducted for the study group before and after the AT. The tests were carried out for the control group at the same times with the study group and the results were compared. Results: In comparison with the first evaluation, the last evaluation of the study group demonstrated a significant difference regarding the decrease of mean latency in the MMN wave (p = 0.038), and regarding the improving score of matrix test (p = 0.004), there was no difference in the control group. Conclusion: The AT program prepared for the study was effective in improving speech recognition in noise in the elderly, and the efficiency of AT could be demonstrated with MMN and matrix test.

Evaluation of Speech Recognition Skills in Different Noises with the Turkish Matrix Sentence Test in Hearing Aid Users.

Objective:This study aimed to analyze the effectiveness of the Turkish matrix sentence test in evaluating the speech recognition performance of hearing aid users under different noise conditions.Methods:Speech recognition performance of 42 individuals, 20 to 65 years of age (mean 49.1±14 years) with bilateral sensorineural hearing loss was measured in noise with the Turkish matrix sentence test without a background noise and with headphones. Additionally, the participants’ speech recognition thresholds were measured with a matrix test while wearing their hearing aid under three different listening conditions in which the phases of speech and noise stimuli were changed with constant and fluctuating noise.Results:Speech-recognition thresholds were better in fluctuating noise than in constant noise in all listening conditions, and this difference was statistically significant (p=0.02). In both types of noise, speech-recognition thresholds of bilateral hearing aid users (n=29) were lower (better) than those of unilateral hearing aid users (n=13) under three different listening conditions, but there was no statistically significant difference (p=0.67). Speech-recognition thresholds without hearing aids were statistically higher (worse) than those obtained with hearing aids (p=0.001).Conclusion:Since the Turkish matrix sentence test gives useful results, this test can be used in the diagnosis, follow-up, and rehabilitation planning of hearing aid users. We observed that speech intelligibility was better, although there were differences among those with hearing loss when the speech test was conducted in fluctuating background noise with the Turkish matrix sentence test.

Determining attributed factors of hearing handicap in individuals with auditory sensory and neural pathology

IntroductionThere is a modest relationship between speech perception skills and perceived hearing handicap in individuals with hearing loss. In this study, an attempt is made at linking psychoacoustic results and speech perception skills to understand the subjective handicap and quality of life. ObjectiveTo investigate how speech perception in noise (signal to noise ratio-50), difference limen frequency, temporal modulation transfer function, hearing handicap inventory for adults, and quality of life in auditory neuropathy spectrum disorder differs from sensorineural hearing loss. Further we attempt to discern attributed factors of hearing handicap in auditory neuropathy spectrum disorder and sensorineural hearing loss. MethodsA cross-sectional study with comparative and correlational research designs were utilized. Eighty-four participants were grouped into sensorineural hearing loss (n = 49), and auditory neuropathy spectrum disorder (n = 35) was sub-grouped into mild, moderately severe, and severe. We evaluated signal to noise ratio-50, difference limen frequency, and temporal modulation transfer function. In addition, hearing handicap inventory for adults, and quality of life questionnaires were administered. ResultsMild auditory neuropathy spectrum disorder showed impairment in speech perception and discriminating frequency, which were similar to the severe sensory neural hearing loss. Temporal resolution impairment in auditory neuropathy spectrum disorder mild was significantly higher than in each sub-groups of sensorineural hearing loss. The severity of the hearing handicap in was similar to severe sensorineural hearing loss, quality of life was equally affected in sensorineural hearing loss and auditory neuropathy spectrum disorder. In sensorineural hearing loss, signal to noise ratio-50 was positively related, and quality of life was negatively related to hearing handicap. In auditory neuropathy spectrum disorder, no contributory factors were related to hearing handicap. ConclusionMild auditory neural pathology demonstrates impairment in speech recognition and psychoacoustic skills similar to severe cochlear pathology. In sensorineural hearing loss, hearing handicap is predicted from quality of life and speech perception, but none of the contributory factors predicted hearing handicap in auditory neuropathy spectrum disorder.

Voice Emotion Recognition by Mandarin-Speaking Children with Cochlear Implants.

Emotional expressions are very important in social interactions. Children with cochlear implants can have voice emotion recognition deficits due to device limitations. Mandarin-speaking children with cochlear implants may face greater challenges than those speaking nontonal languages; the pitch information is not well preserved in cochlear implants, and such children could benefit from child-directed speech, which carries more exaggerated distinctive acoustic cues for different emotions. This study investigated voice emotion recognition, using both adult-directed and child-directed materials, in Mandarin-speaking children with cochlear implants compared with normal hearing peers. The authors hypothesized that both the children with cochlear implants and those with normal hearing would perform better with child-directed materials than with adult-directed materials. Thirty children (7.17-17 years of age) with cochlear implants and 27 children with normal hearing (6.92-17.08 years of age) were recruited in this study. Participants completed a nonverbal reasoning test, speech recognition tests, and a voice emotion recognition task. Children with cochlear implants over the age of 10 years also completed the Chinese version of the Nijmegen Cochlear Implant Questionnaire to evaluate the health-related quality of life. The voice emotion recognition task was a five-alternative, forced-choice paradigm, which contains sentences spoken with five emotions (happy, angry, sad, scared, and neutral) in a child-directed or adult-directed manner. Acoustic analyses showed substantial variations across emotions in all materials, mainly on measures of mean fundamental frequency and fundamental frequency range. Mandarin-speaking children with cochlear implants displayed a significantly poorer performance than normal hearing peers in voice emotion perception tasks, regardless of whether the performance is measured in accuracy scores, Hu value, or reaction time. Children with cochlear implants and children with normal hearing were mainly affected by the mean fundamental frequency in speech emotion recognition tasks. Chronological age had a significant effect on speech emotion recognition in children with normal hearing; however, there was no significant correlation between chronological age and accuracy scores in speech emotion recognition in children with implants. Significant effects of specific emotion and test materials (better performance with child-directed materials) in both groups of children were observed. Among the children with cochlear implants, age at implantation, percentage scores of nonverbal intelligence quotient test, and sentence recognition threshold in quiet could predict recognition performance in both accuracy scores and Hu values. Time wearing cochlear implant could predict reaction time in emotion perception tasks among children with cochlear implants. No correlation was observed between the accuracy score in voice emotion perception and the self-reported scores of health-related quality of life; however, the latter were significantly correlated with speech recognition skills among Mandarin-speaking children with cochlear implants. Mandarin-speaking children with cochlear implants could have significant deficits in voice emotion recognition tasks compared with their normally hearing peers and can benefit from the exaggerated prosody of child-directed speech. The effects of age at cochlear implantation, speech and language development, and cognition could play an important role in voice emotion perception by Mandarin-speaking children with cochlear implants.

Relationships Between Daily Device Use and Early Communication Outcomes in Young Children With Cochlear Implants.

Children with significant hearing loss can gain access to sound via a cochlear implant (CI), but they must wear the device to reap the communication benefits of the device. That is, poor daily device use may result in underdeveloped perceptual and language skills in children and adolescents using CIs. This retrospective study focuses on the relationship between daily CI use and communication performance (auditory skills, speech recognition, expressive and receptive language) in young children, with the hypothesis that greater daily device use coincides with better communication outcomes. The authors conducted a clinical chart review of patients with CIs younger than 5 years old who used at least 1 CI speech processor with datalogging technology. Participants (n = 65) had a mean chronologic age of 3.5 years, mean implantation age of 1.9 years, and mean device experience of 1.6 years. Approximately one quarter of participants had additional disabilities. Daily device use (i.e., datalogging information), child characteristics (e.g., age at CI), and assessments of communication skills (i.e., parent questionnaires, speech recognition tests, standardized language assessments) were obtained from each child's records. The investigators performed correlational analyses to examine relationships between communication outcomes and daily device use, and they employed group comparisons and correlations to identify child characteristics that were significantly associated with daily device use (p < 0.05, corrections for family-wise error). Young children with CIs used their device, on average, 6.7 hr/d, with 63% below full-time use (<8 hr/d). Children without additional disabilities who wore their CI more hours per day had significantly better auditory, speech recognition, and language skills. A significant correlation also emerged between daily device use and early auditory skills in young CI users with additional disabilities, though relationships were more complicated for this subsample. Longer daily device use significantly correlated with younger age at CI and longer device experience. Differences in device use occurred in regards to absence versus presence of additional disabilities, bilateral versus unilateral device configuration, sign versus spoken language, and private versus government-assisted insurance. The strong relationship between daily device use and early communication suggests clinicians and parents should focus on increasing the number of hours per day young children wear their CIs to enhance auditory and language outcomes. However, intervention strategies must consider barriers to consistent device use and goals of the family to efficiently and effectively support families of young children with CIs who struggle with inconsistent device use.

Prologue to the Forum: Literacy and Language Issues In Children With Hearing Loss

Purpose The purpose of this forum is to provide an update on reading outcomes in preschool- and school-age children with hearing loss and to provide guidance on intervention strategies to improve reading skills. Conclusions Preschool- and school-age children with hearing loss may show deficits in various reading and reading-related skills depending on their age, duration of deafness, severity of hearing loss, age at which they were fitted with hearing technologies, speech recognition skills, communication mode, and quality of intervention. Several linguistic and cognitive factors also are associated with reading outcomes. Thus, intervention programs must be multicomponent in nature and designed to fit the unique needs of each child.

Long-Term Language Development in Children With Early Simultaneous Bilateral Cochlear Implants.

Objectives:This longitudinal study followed the language development of children who received the combination of early (5 to 18 months) and simultaneous bilateral cochlear implants (CIs) throughout the first 6 years after implantation. It examined the trajectories of their language development and identified factors associated with language outcomes.Design:Participants were 21 Norwegian children who received bilateral CIs between the ages of 5 and 18 mo and 21 children with normal hearing (NH) who were matched to the children with CIs on age, sex, and maternal education. The language skills of these two groups were compared at 10 time points (3, 6, 9, 12, 18, 24, 36, 48, 60, and 72 months after implantation) using parent reports and standardized measures of general language skills, vocabulary, and grammar. In addition, assessments were made of the effects of age at CI activation, speech recognition abilities, and mothers’ education on language outcomes 6 years after implantation.Results:During the first 4 years after implantation, the gap in general expressive and receptive language abilities between children with CIs and children with NH gradually closed. While at the initial five to six assessments (3 to 36 months after implantation), significant differences between children with CIs and children with NH were observed; at 4 years after implantation, there were no longer any significant group differences in general language skills and most children with CIs achieved scores within 1 SD of the tests’ normative means. From 2 to 3 years after implantation onward, expressive vocabulary and receptive grammar skills of children with CIs were similar to those of the reference group. However, from 4 years after implantation until the end of the observation period, 6 years after implantation, expressive grammar skills of children with CIs were lower than those of children with NH. In addition, a gap in receptive vocabulary appeared and grew increasingly larger from 4 to 6 years postimplantation. At the final assessment, the children with CIs had an average receptive vocabulary score around 1 SD below the normative mean. Regression analysis indicated that the children’s language outcomes at 6 years after implantation were related to their speech recognition skills, age at CI activation, and maternal education.Conclusions:In the first 4 years after implantation, the language performance of children with CIs became increasingly similar to that of their NH peers. However, between 4 and 6 years after implantation, there were indications of challenges with certain aspects of language, specifically receptive vocabulary and expressive grammar. Because these challenges first appeared after the 4-year assessment, the findings underline the importance of long-term language intervention to increase the chances of a continued language development comparable to that of NH peers. They also indicate that there is a need for comprehensive longitudinal studies of the language development of children with CIs beyond 4 years after implantation.

Audiovisual Enhancement of Speech Perception in Noise by School-Age Children Who Are Hard of Hearing.

The purpose of this study was to examine age- and hearing-related differences in school-age children's benefit from visual speech cues. The study addressed three questions: (1) Do age and hearing loss affect degree of audiovisual (AV) speech enhancement in school-age children? (2) Are there age- and hearing-related differences in the mechanisms underlying AV speech enhancement in school-age children? (3) What cognitive and linguistic variables predict individual differences in AV benefit among school-age children? Forty-eight children between 6 and 13 years of age (19 with mild to severe sensorineural hearing loss; 29 with normal hearing) and 14 adults with normal hearing completed measures of auditory and AV syllable detection and/or sentence recognition in a two-talker masker type and a spectrally matched noise. Children also completed standardized behavioral measures of receptive vocabulary, visuospatial working memory, and executive attention. Mixed linear modeling was used to examine effects of modality, listener group, and masker on sentence recognition accuracy and syllable detection thresholds. Pearson correlations were used to examine the relationship between individual differences in children's AV enhancement (AV-auditory-only) and age, vocabulary, working memory, executive attention, and degree of hearing loss. Significant AV enhancement was observed across all tasks, masker types, and listener groups. AV enhancement of sentence recognition was similar across maskers, but children with normal hearing exhibited less AV enhancement of sentence recognition than adults with normal hearing and children with hearing loss. AV enhancement of syllable detection was greater in the two-talker masker than the noise masker, but did not vary significantly across listener groups. Degree of hearing loss positively correlated with individual differences in AV benefit on the sentence recognition task in noise, but not on the detection task. None of the cognitive and linguistic variables correlated with individual differences in AV enhancement of syllable detection or sentence recognition. Although AV benefit to syllable detection results from the use of visual speech to increase temporal expectancy, AV benefit to sentence recognition requires that an observer extracts phonetic information from the visual speech signal. The findings from this study suggest that all listener groups were equally good at using temporal cues in visual speech to detect auditory speech, but that adults with normal hearing and children with hearing loss were better than children with normal hearing at extracting phonetic information from the visual signal and/or using visual speech information to access phonetic/lexical representations in long-term memory. These results suggest that standard, auditory-only clinical speech recognition measures likely underestimate real-world speech recognition skills of children with mild to severe hearing loss.

Effects of Age and Cochlear Implantation on Spectrally Cued Speech Categorization.

Purpose Weighting of acoustic cues for perceiving place-of-articulation speech contrasts was measured to determine the separate and interactive effects of age and use of cochlear implants (CIs). It has been found that adults with normal hearing (NH) show reliance on fine-grained spectral information (e.g., formants), whereas adults with CIs show reliance on broad spectral shape (e.g., spectral tilt). In question was whether children with NH and CIs would demonstrate the same patterns as adults, or show differences based on ongoing maturation of hearing and phonetic skills. Method Children and adults with NH and with CIs categorized a /b/-/d/ speech contrast based on two orthogonal spectral cues. Among CI users, phonetic cue weights were compared to vowel identification scores and Spectral-Temporally Modulated Ripple Test thresholds. Results NH children and adults both relied relatively more on the fine-grained formant cue and less on the broad spectral tilt cue compared to participants with CIs. However, early-implanted children with CIs better utilized the formant cue compared to adult CI users. Formant cue weights correlated with CI participants' vowel recognition and in children, also related to Spectral-Temporally Modulated Ripple Test thresholds. Adults and child CI users with very poor phonetic perception showed additive use of the two cues, whereas those with better and/or more mature cue usage showed a prioritized trading relationship, akin to NH listeners. Conclusions Age group and hearing modality can influence phonetic cue-weighting patterns. Results suggest that simple nonlexical categorization tests correlate with more general speech recognition skills of children and adults with CIs.

Reabilitação com prótese auditiva em indivíduos com perda auditiva unilateral: revisão sistemática

Objetivo: Determinar, por meio de uma revisão sistemática, os resultados auditivos da reabilitação por meio de prótese auditiva em indivíduos com Perda Auditiva Unilateral (PAUn), no que se refere às habilidades de reconhecimento de fala na presença de ruído competitivo, localização da fonte sonora, satisfação e tempo de uso da prótese auditiva. Método: O levantamento bibliográfico foi realizado nas bases de dados Cochrane, Lilacs, Medline, Pubmed e Scielo, buscando triar estudos publicados entre 1997 e 2017, com os seguintes descritores em português: perda auditiva unilateral e auxiliares de audição; e em inglês: unilateral hearing loss e hearing aid. Os critérios de seleção dos estudos foram, amostra de indivíduos com PAUn, com idade mínima de 18 anos, que tivessem sido submetidos a avaliações de resultados voltados para a investigação do reconhecimento de fala na presença de ruído e/ou localização da fonte sonora e/ou satisfação e/ou tempo de uso da prótese auditiva, pré e pós-adaptação de prótese auditiva. Resultados: Após o levantamento bibliográfico, seis artigos foram analisados. Conclusão: Observou-se escassez de estudos voltados para a investigação da reabilitação por meio de prótese auditiva em indivíduos com PAUn. Apesar da maioria dos estudos demonstrarem benefício e satisfação com a adaptação de prótese auditiva, parte desta população não faz uso da mesma. A adaptação de prótese auditiva nesta população deve ser incentivada, levando em consideração a avaliação da demanda comunicativa de cada indivíduo, sua restrição de participação, principais queixas auditivas deste indivíduo pré e pós-adaptação e do ajuste de programação da prótese auditiva.

Functional Outcomes in Cochleostomy and Round Window Insertion Technique: Difference or No Difference?

With the introduction and rapid development of Cochlear Implants since the 1970s, there has been marked improvement in the speech recognition and spoken language skills of the implanted profoundly deaf children. The cochlear implant can be done by means of different techniques, traditionally by Cochleostomy method and round window membrane (RWM) insertion technique. Post operatively, the functional outcomes are measured by many scores more commonly by Categories of Auditory Performance (CAP) and Speech Intelligibility Rating (SIR) scores. To study the speech and hearing perception skills in pediatric cases of Congenital non syndromic bilateral profound sensorineural hearing loss after Cochleostomy and Round Window Insertion technique of Cochlear Implantation. 31 patients clinically diagnosed as congenital non syndromic bilateral profound sensorineural hearing loss who had undergone Cochlear implantation either by Cochleostomy or by RWM insertion technique and fulfilling the eligibility criteria were enrolled for study. Post operatively functional outcomes were assessed subjectively by measuring CAP and SIR scores. All the patients showed increase in their CAP and SIR scores post-operatively, measured at 03months, 06months and 01year after Cochlear Implantation. The mean CAP and SIR scores in the two groups were comparable at 03months, 06months and 1year after surgery. There was no significant difference in the speech and hearing perception skills of post implantees in the two groups (p value < 0.05). There is no difference in functional outcomes of Cochlear implantation by Cochleostomy and round window membrane insertion technique.

Remote microphone system use in the homes of children with hearing loss

Remote microphone systems (RMS) are known to improve speech recognition skills of children with hearing loss in settings where noise and distance are present (e.g., the classroom, the home; Bertachini, 2016). However, although RMSs are widely recommended in the classroom setting, very few and inconclusive studies have examined the possible language benefits related to the use of RMS use in the home environment. In this presentation, we will discuss a series of projects in which we investigated the effects of home-use of an RMS on the communication of 10 families with young children with hearing loss. Language Environmental Analysis (LENA™) recorders were used during two consecutive weekends (one weekend with the remote microphone and one without). Caregiver talk, child-directed speech, and other caregiver communication strategies were compared across both weekends. Caregiver perceptions related to RMS use will also be discussed.

Relations Between Self-reported Executive Functioning and Speech Perception Skills in Adult Cochlear Implant Users.

As a result of their hearing loss, adults with cochlear implants (CIs) would self-report poorer executive functioning (EF) skills than normal-hearing (NH) peers, and these EF skills would be associated with performance on speech recognition tasks. EF refers to a group of high order neurocognitive skills responsible for behavioral and emotional regulation during goal-directed activity, and EF has been found to be poorer in children with CIs than their NH age-matched peers. Moreover, there is increasing evidence that neurocognitive skills, including some EF skills, contribute to the ability to recognize speech through a CI. Thirty postlingually deafened adults with CIs and 42 age-matched NH adults were enrolled. Participants and their spouses or significant others (informants) completed well-validated self-reports or informant-reports of EF, the Behavior Rating Inventory of Executive Function - Adult (BRIEF-A). CI users' speech recognition skills were assessed in quiet using several measures of sentence recognition. NH peers were tested for recognition of noise-vocoded versions of the same speech stimuli. CI users self-reported difficulty on EF tasks of shifting and task monitoring. In CI users, measures of speech recognition correlated with several self-reported EF skills. The present findings provide further evidence that neurocognitive factors, including specific EF skills, may decline in association with hearing loss, and that some of these EF skills contribute to speech processing under degraded listening conditions.

The Relationship Between Environmental Sound Awareness and Speech Recognition Skills in Experienced Cochlear Implant Users.

1) Environmental sound awareness (ESA) and speech recognition skills in experienced, adult cochlear implant (CI) users will be highly correlated, and, 2) ESA skills of CI users will be significantly lower than those of age-matched adults with normal hearing. Enhancement of ESA is often discussed with patients with sensorineural hearing loss as a potential benefit of implantation and, in some cases, ESA may be a major motivating factor. Despite its ecological validity and patients' expectations, ESA remains largely a presumed skill. The relationship between ESA and speech recognition is not well-understood. ESA was assessed in 35 postlingually deaf, experienced CI users and a control group of 41 age-matched, normal hearing listeners using the validated, computerized familiar environmental sounds test-identification (FEST-I) and a diverse speech recognition battery. Demographic and audiological factors as well as nonverbal intelligence quotient (IQ)/nonverbal reasoning and spectral resolution were assessed. Six of the 35 experienced CI users (17%) demonstrated FEST-I accuracy within the range of the NH controls. Among CI users all correlations between FEST-I accuracy and speech recognition scores were strong. Chronological age at the time of testing, duration of deafness, spectral resolution, and nonverbal IQ/nonverbal reasoning were strongly correlated with FEST-I accuracy. Partial correlation analysis showed that correlations between FEST-I and speech recognition measures remained significant when controlling for the demographic and audiological factors. Our findings reinforce the hypothesis that ESA and speech perception share common underlying processes rather than reflecting truly separate auditory domains.