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Lexical effects on spoken word recognition by pediatric cochlear implant users
K I Kirk1, D B Pisoni, M J Osberger
1Department of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, Indiana University School of Medicine, Indianapolis, USA.
Ear and Hearing
|October 1, 1995
Summary
Children with cochlear implants (CI) perform better on spoken word recognition tests that consider word characteristics. Standard tests may underestimate their abilities.
Area of Science:
- Audiology
- Speech-Language Pathology
- Neuroscience
Background:
- Pediatric cochlear implant (CI) users often face challenges in spoken word recognition.
- Understanding the linguistic factors influencing CI users' speech perception is crucial for improving auditory rehabilitation.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate how lexical characteristics (word frequency, neighborhood density) affect spoken word recognition in pediatric CI users.
- To compare the performance of pediatric CI users on lexically controlled word lists versus a traditional word recognition test (PB-K).
Main Methods:
- Two experiments were conducted with 14-19 pediatric CI users.
- Lexically controlled word lists were created based on word frequency, lexical density, and word length.
- Participants' performance was assessed using these lists and the PB-K test.
Main Results:
- Spoken word recognition was significantly better for lexically "easy" words (high frequency, few neighbors) compared to "hard" words.
- Phoneme recognition scores were not affected by lexical characteristics.
- Performance was consistently higher on lexically controlled lists than on the PB-K.
- Multisyllabic words were recognized better than monosyllabic words.
Conclusions:
- Pediatric CI users are sensitive to word similarity and utilize lexical information for word recognition.
- The PB-K test may underestimate the spoken word recognition abilities of pediatric CI users.
- These findings highlight the importance of considering lexical factors in assessing and training CI users.