A novel cochlear implant assessment tool: Audiometric and speech recognition analysis

Area of Science:

• Audiology
• Biomedical Engineering
• Speech-Language Pathology

Background:

• Cochlear implants (CIs) are crucial for hearing restoration in individuals with severe to profound hearing loss.
• Accurate audiological assessments, including pure tone audiometry (PTA) and speech recognition testing, are vital for optimizing CI outcomes.
• Traditional sound booth (SB) evaluations can be time-consuming and resource-intensive.

Purpose of the Study:

• To compare the efficacy of CLABOX with direct audio input (DAI) against conventional sound booth (SB) evaluations for assessing PTA and speech recognition in CI users.
• To determine if CLABOX-DAI can serve as a reliable alternative for audiological testing in the cochlear implant population.

Main Methods:

• Fifty cochlear implant users (33 adults, 17 children) participated in the study.
• Speech recognition tests in noise (fixed and adaptive), Hearing in Noise Test (HINT), Ling test, and PTA were administered in both the SB and CLABOX environments.
• Data were analyzed to compare performance metrics between the two testing setups.

Main Results:

• Speech recognition in noise and PTA thresholds were significantly better when measured in the CLABOX compared to the SB.
• The signal-to-noise ratio (S/N) for HINT with adaptive noise was more favorable in CLABOX (2.14 dB) than in SB (3.42 dB).
• No significant difference was observed for the Ling test categories between the two environments.

Conclusions:

• CLABOX with DAI is an effective tool for evaluating PTA and speech recognition in cochlear implant users.
• The findings suggest CLABOX-DAI can be a valuable and potentially more efficient alternative to traditional sound booths for CI audiological assessments.