Consonant perception by users of Nucleus and Clarion multichannel cochlear implants

Area of Science:

• Audiology
• Biomedical Engineering
• Speech Perception

Background:

• Multichannel cochlear implants (CIs) aim to restore hearing but vary in speech perception capabilities.
• Understanding consonant perception is crucial for assessing CI performance.
• Previous research indicates differences in feature information transmission across CI devices.

Purpose of the Study:

• To compare consonant perception and feature information transmission among users of Nucleus, Clarion-CIS, and Clarion-CA multichannel cochlear implant devices.
• To investigate if the Clarion device encodes acoustic information related to the place of articulation.
• To evaluate the performance of different CI devices in auditory-only conditions.

Main Methods:

• Administered the Iowa Medical Consonant Recognition Test (ICRT) in an auditory-only condition.
• Recruited users of Nucleus (N=5), Clarion-CIS (N=5), and Clarion-CA (N=4) cochlear implants.
• Calculated consonant feature information transmission for manner, nasality, place, duration, and voicing.

Main Results:

• All CI groups averaged approximately 50% correct consonant recognition, with scores ranging from 34% to 84%.
• Nucleus group showed highest transmission for duration, nasality, and voicing.
• Clarion-CIS and Clarion-CA groups demonstrated transmission for duration and place of articulation, with Clarion-CA showing notable place information.

Conclusions:

• The Clarion device, including Clarion-CA, may transmit acoustic information related to the place of articulation, a feature not well-encoded by other multichannel CIs.
• Consonant perception varies across different CI technologies.
• Further research is needed to optimize CI strategies for encoding complex speech features like place of articulation.