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Updated: Jun 19, 2026

Systematic Hearing Performance Evaluation Process for Adolescents with Cochlear Implantation at Early Ages
Published on: March 24, 2023
Bimodal hearing benefit for speech recognition with competing voice in cochlear implant subject with normal hearing
Helen E Cullington1, Fan-Gang Zeng
1South of England Cochlear Implant Centre, Institute of Sound and Vibration Research, University of Southampton, SO17 1BJ, United Kingdom. h.cullington@soton.ac.uk
Objectives:
This project assessed electroacoustic benefit for speech recognition with a competing talker.
Design:
Using a cochlear implant subject with normal hearing in the contralateral ear, the contribution of low-pass and high-pass natural sound to speech recognition was systematically measured.
Results:
High-frequency sound did not improve performance, but low-frequency sound did, even when unintelligible and limited to frequencies below 150 Hz.
Conclusions:
The low-frequency sound assists separation of the two talkers, presumably using the fundamental frequency cue. Extrapolating this finding to regular cochlear implant users may suggest that using a hearing aid on the contralateral ear will improve performance, even with limited residual hearing.
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