[Speech audiometry and data logging in CI patients : Implications for adequate test levels. German version]

Area of Science:

• Audiology
• Speech processing
• Hearing rehabilitation

Background:

• Postoperative cochlear implant (CI) diagnostics involve speech comprehension tests to assess audiological outcomes.
• Recent trends show improved speech intelligibility in quiet and at softer sound levels.
• Modern CI systems allow data logging to analyze patients' acoustic environments.

Purpose of the Study:

• To determine which test levels accurately reflect an individual's listening environment.
• To explore how these relevant listening levels can be incorporated into clinical audiometric settings.

Main Methods:

• Retrospective analysis of data logs from 263 adult CI patients.
• Evaluation of sound levels and listening situations (quiet, speech, noise, music, wind).
• Monosyllabic word comprehension testing in experienced CI users at presentation levels from 40-80 dB.

Main Results:

• Data logging revealed that speech signals in the acoustic environment of adult CI users most frequently occur between 50-59 dB.
• This highlights the importance of everyday speech comprehension at sound levels below 60 dB.

Conclusions:

• Optimizing speech processor settings for CI users requires testing at lower sound levels, not exclusively at 65-70 dB.
• Clinical speech intelligibility measurements at 50 dB are recommended as a valuable addition to current practices.