Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jun 25, 2026

Systematic Hearing Performance Evaluation Process for Adolescents with Cochlear Implantation at Early Ages
Published on: March 24, 2023
Effect of a competing instrument on melodic contour identification by cochlear implant users
John J Galvin1, Qian-Jie Fu, Sandra I Oba
1Department of Communication and Auditory Neuroscience, House Ear Institute, Los Angeles, California 90057, USA. jgalvin@hei.org
Abstract:
Cochlear implant (CI) users have limited access to fundamental frequency (F0) and timbre cues, which are needed to segregate competing voices and/or musical instruments. In the present study, CI users' melodic contour identification was measured for three target instruments in the presence of a masker instrument; the F0 of the masker was varied relative to the target instruments. Mean CI performance significantly declined in the presence of the masker, while mean normal-hearing performance was largely unaffected. However, the most musically experienced CI users were able to make use of timbre and F0 differences between instruments.
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