Head Shadow, Squelch, and Summation Effects With an Energetic or Informational Masker in Bilateral and Bimodal CI Users Purpose The objective of the study was to investigate the influence of noise (energetic) and speech (energetic plus informational) maskers on the head shadow (HS), squelch (SQ), and binaural summation (SU) effect in bilateral and bimodal cochlear implant (CI) users. Method Speech recognition was measured in the presence ... Research Article
Research Article  |   October 01, 2014
Head Shadow, Squelch, and Summation Effects With an Energetic or Informational Masker in Bilateral and Bimodal CI Users
Verena Pyschny, Markus Landwehr, Moritz Hahn, Ruth Lang-Roth, Martin Walger, and Hartmut Meister
 
Author Affiliations & Notes
  • Verena Pyschny
    Jean-Uhrmacher-Institute for Clinical ENT-Research, University of Cologne, Germany
    Clinic of Otorhinolaryngology, Head and Neck Surgery, University of Cologne, Germany
  • Markus Landwehr
    Clinic of Otorhinolaryngology, Head and Neck Surgery, University of Heidelberg, Germany
  • Moritz Hahn
    Institute of Medical Statistics, Informatics and Epidemiology, University of Cologne, Germany
  • Ruth Lang-Roth
    Clinic of Otorhinolaryngology, Head and Neck Surgery, University of Cologne, Germany
  • Martin Walger
    Clinic of Otorhinolaryngology, Head and Neck Surgery, University of Cologne, Germany
  • Hartmut Meister
    Jean-Uhrmacher-Institute for Clinical ENT-Research, University of Cologne, Germany
  • Disclosure: The authors have declared that no competing interests existed at the time of publication.
    Disclosure: The authors have declared that no competing interests existed at the time of publication. ×
  • Correspondence to Verena Pyschny: verena.pyschny@uk-koeln.de
  • Editor: Craig Champlin
    Editor: Craig Champlin×
  • Associate Editor: Kostas Kokkinakis
    Associate Editor: Kostas Kokkinakis×
  • © American Speech-Language-Hearing Association
Article Information
Hearing & Speech Perception / Hearing Aids, Cochlear Implants & Assistive Technology / Hearing / Research Articles
Research Article   |   October 01, 2014
Head Shadow, Squelch, and Summation Effects With an Energetic or Informational Masker in Bilateral and Bimodal CI Users
Journal of Speech, Language, and Hearing Research, October 2014, Vol. 57, 1942-1960. doi:10.1044/2014_JSLHR-H-13-0144
History: Received June 4, 2013 , Revised November 18, 2013 , Accepted March 26, 2014
 
Journal of Speech, Language, and Hearing Research, October 2014, Vol. 57, 1942-1960. doi:10.1044/2014_JSLHR-H-13-0144
History: Received June 4, 2013; Revised November 18, 2013; Accepted March 26, 2014
Web of Science® Times Cited: 4

Purpose The objective of the study was to investigate the influence of noise (energetic) and speech (energetic plus informational) maskers on the head shadow (HS), squelch (SQ), and binaural summation (SU) effect in bilateral and bimodal cochlear implant (CI) users.

Method Speech recognition was measured in the presence of either a competing talker or modulated speech-shaped noise in 10 bimodal and 10 bilateral adult CI users. HS, SQ, and SU effects were calculated. The interfering signals were manipulated with respect to F0 to consider the influence of different speaker voices.

Results The effects HS, SQ, and SU differed depending on the type of masker. A detailed analysis of errors was used to dissociate energetic and informational masking effects. The analysis showed a release from energetic than from informational masking.

Conclusion Noise interferers are not sufficient to reflect difficulties experienced with speech understanding in noise for bilateral and bimodal CI users.

Acknowledgments
We would like to thank our participants with cochlear implants for their time and dedication. Thanks for proofreading the manuscript go to Josephine Wyss and Dianne Mecklenburg. This research was supported by Cochlear Deutschland GmbH & Co. KG.
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