Influence of Speech Rate on Auditory Recognition in Cochlear Implant Users

Area of Science:

• Audiology
• Speech Perception
• Cochlear Implants

Background:

• Cochlear implant (CI) users with poorer performance often face challenges in auditory recognition.
• Understanding how speech stimulus presentation affects their performance is crucial for improving audiological rehabilitation.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the influence of different speech stimulus presentation methods and speeds on auditory recognition in CI users.
• To compare performance using monitored live voice (MLV), recorded speech at typical speed (RSTS), and recorded speech at slow speed (RSSS).

Main Methods:

• A cross-sectional observational study involving 15 adult CI users.
• Auditory speech perception tests were conducted without background noise.
• Stimuli were presented via MLV, RSTS, and RSSS, with scores measured by the Percent Sentence Recognition Index (PSRI).

Main Results:

• Participants achieved higher PSRI scores with MLV (42.4%) and RSSS (40.6%) compared to RSTS (20.3%).
• A significant difference in performance was observed between RSTS and both MLV and RSSS.
• The mean age of participants was 41.1 years, with an average CI use duration of 11.4 years.

Conclusions:

• The method and speed of speech stimulus presentation significantly affect auditory speech recognition in CI users.
• MLV and RSSS modalities enhance speech comprehension in CI users compared to RSTS.
• Optimizing stimulus presentation can improve audiological test outcomes for CI recipients.