Impact of cognition and noise reduction on speech perception in adults with unilateral cochlear implants.

Objectives: The purpose of this study was to investigate the impact of cognition and noise reduction (NR) technology in cochlear implants (CIs) on speech perception and listening effort.

Methods: Thirteen adults fitted with unilateral CIs (Nucleus 6, CP900) participated in this study. Participants performed: (I) cognitive tests of working memory and processing speed, (II) speech perception in noise tests, and (III) an auditory-visual dual-task paradigm to quantify listening effort, as a part of the three-phase experimental study.