Current clinical results of the cochlear implant program conducted on Mandarin-speaking patients

This paper reports preliminary results from the 3M/HEI cochlear implant program conducted on oriental adult patients who speak Mandarin-Chinese. The whole program was performed according to the trained experience and the specific manuals provided by the House Ear Institute. Various testing and training materials (Chinese version of the monosyllable-trochee-spondee [MTS] test) as well as modified candidate evaluation procedures and criteria were applied. Three patients were considered as appropriate candidates. The third patient did not respond to the electrostimulation and is waiting for revision surgery. The warble-tone and speech detection thresholds aided with the implant devices of the first two patients were comparable with those found in western cases. Obvious improvements over the performance of stress discrimination on the MTS test were also noted. The tasks of speechreading, voice monitoring, and use of emergency telephone code were much easier for the first patient. Both patients indicated ability to detect and recognize many environmental sounds. Audiology-oriented findings, testing experiences, and suggestions for the program are presented and discussed. It is hoped that this paper will be helpful for the field and for similar programs in other countries.