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Updated: May 27, 2026

Systematic Hearing Performance Evaluation Process for Adolescents with Cochlear Implantation at Early Ages
Published on: March 24, 2023
Improvements in speech perception after the upgrade from the TEMPO+ to the OPUS 2 audio processor
Yvonne Seebens1, Gottfried Diller
1Cochlear Implant Centrum Rhein-Main, Gruener Weg 9, Friedberg, Germany. yseebens @ cic-rheinmain.de
Objective:
To assess if speech perception improves after the upgrade from the TEMPO+ to the OPUS 2 processor.
Method:
In this retrospective study, 45 subjects (54 ears) implanted with a cochlear implant were upgraded from the TEMPO+ (continuous interleaved sampling + coding strategy) to the OPUS 2 processor (fine structure processing). Before the upgrade, patients were tested with the Freiburg monosyllable (FM) and the Hochmair-Schulz-Moser (HSM) sentence test in quiet and in noise. Four weeks after the upgrade, subjects were again assessed with the same tests.
Results:
In quiet, mean FM results improved from 62.0% (±21.3%) to 77.8% (±15.2%) and HSM sentences from 69.9% (±26.1%) to 77.9% (±22.1%). In noise, mean FM results improved from 27.3% (±17.1%) to 52.1% (±18.6%) and HSM sentences from 40.4% (±29.1%) to 58.0% (±26.1%). The upgrade to the OPUS 2 was statistically very significant for all speech perception tests (p < 0.001). Additionally, subjects stated that the OPUS 2 initially sounded 'awkward' but that quality and speech perception improved after a certain adaptation time.
Conclusion:
Speech understanding in quiet and noise significantly improved with the OPUS 2 in all speech perception tests.
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