Effects of various electrode configurations on music perception, intonation and speaker gender identification.

Advances in speech coding strategies and electrode array designs for cochlear implants (CIs) predominantly aim at improving speech perception. Current efforts are also directed at transmitting appropriate cues of the fundamental frequency (F0) to the auditory nerve with respect to speech quality, prosody, and music perception. The aim of this study was to examine the effects of various electrode configurations and coding strategies on speech intonation identification, speaker gender identification, and music quality rating.

Bimodal hearing and speech perception with a competing talker.

Purpose: The objective of the study was to investigate the influence of bimodal stimulation upon hearing ability for speech recognition in the presence of a single competing talker.

Method: Speech recognition was measured in 3 listening conditions: hearing aid (HA) alone, cochlear implant (CI) alone, and both devices together (CI + HA). To examine the use of low-frequency cues, the competing masker voice was manipulated with respect to fundamental frequency (F0) and formant frequencies.

Utility and importance of hearing-aid features assessed by hearing-aid acousticians.

Modern hearing instruments include many features addressing situation-specific and user-related amplification. The main tasks of the acoustician are the appropriate choice of hearing instruments and fitting them to hearing impaired individuals. This study aims at investigating the utility and importance of several hearing-aid features as assessed by hearing-aid acousticians.

The perception of prosody and speaker gender in normal-hearing listeners and cochlear implant recipients.

The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of altering the fundamental frequency (F0) on perception of prosody and speaker gender in both normal-hearing listeners and cochlear implant (CI) recipients. Tests with natural speech and defined modifications of the F0 were performed, and the resulting changes in perception were measured. Compared to the normal-hearing listeners, most of the CI users exhibited worse outcomes, especially for sentence stress.

The relationship between pre-fitting expectations and willingness to use hearing aids.

Hearing-aid use in the elderly population is problematic since not all people who would benefit from hearing aids actually obtain one. In this study, the relationship between pre-fitting expectations and willingness to use hearing aids is addressed. One hundred adult hearing aid candidates (mean age 68.

Risk factors for auditory neuropathy/auditory synaptopathy.

Aims: It was the aim of this study to describe risk factors in auditory neuropathy/auditory synaptopathy (AN/AS).

Methods: Between 1997 and 2005, we diagnosed 37 children with AN/AS. They underwent a critical chart review for risk factors and etiological coincidences in this idiosyncratic disorder.

Influence of dynamic compression on directional hearing in the horizontal plane.

Objective: The purpose of this study was to assess the influence of dynamic compression on directional hearing in the frontal horizontal plane.

Design: Compression schemes with various compression ratios and attack times were created by using a digital signal processor. The influence of compression on isolated interaural level differences (ILDs) and interaural time differences (ITDs) was examined in discrimination experiments.

Prevalence of auditory neuropathy/synaptopathy in a population of children with profound hearing loss.

Objective: To examine the prevalence of auditory neuropathy/synaptopathy (AN/AS) in a cohort of children with profound hearing loss.

Methods: From 1997 until 2004, 5190 children, aged 1-15 years, whose hearing ability was uncertain or who had risk factors for hearing impairment were investigated with subjective and objective hearing tests. Three thousand four hundred and fifteen from these children were screened for AN/AS using pure-tone audiometry, impedance measurement, transient evoked otoacoustic emissions (TEOAE) and click-evoked auditory brainstem responses (ABR).

Psychometric evaluation of children with suspected auditory processing disorders (APDs) using a parent-answered survey.

Difficulty with auditory processing in children is of increasing interest but is the subject of some controversy in the literature This paper describes a psychometric evaluation of differences between children with suspected auditory processing disorders (APDs) and a control group, using a parent-answered questionnaire. The questionnaire comprised 51 items associated with auditory processing as well as speech/language- and behaviour-related areas. It was found that most of the items separated significantly (p<0.

Detecting components of hearing aid fitting using a self-assessment-inventory.

The evaluation of hearing-aid fitting includes numerous assessments such as electro- and psychoacoustic tests. The subjective estimation of the hearing aid user can be elicited with self-assessment inventories encompassing various parameters, e.g.

Demands on hearing aid features--special signal processing for elderly users?

Age-related effects on several parameters of hearing aid provision, comprising the importance of various hearing aid attributes, the main reason for dissatisfaction, and a measure for aided performance, were examined. When comparing two subgroups of younger and elderly hearing aid users, a significant difference occurred for the importance of the attribute 'handling', whereas all other features examined showed only differences in trends. The question posed for the main reason for dissatisfaction with the hearing aids revealed no significant contrasts.

Modeling relationships between various domains of hearing aid provision.

Various inventories have been developed to quantify the success of hearing aid provision. Though numerous parameters including initial measures (hearing disability, handicap) or 'outcome measures' (e.g.

Identifying the needs of elderly, hearing-impaired persons: the importance and utility of hearing aid attributes.

Older patients represent the majority of hearing-aid users. The needs of elderly, hearing-impaired subjects are not entirely identified. The present study aims to determine the importance of fundamental hearing-aid attributes and to elicit the utility of associated hypothetical hearing aids for older patients.

Determining the importance of fundamental hearing aid attributes.

Objective: To determine the importance of fundamental hearing aid attributes and to elicit measures of satisfaction and dissatisfaction.

Study Design: A prospective study based on a survey using a decompositional approach of preference measurement (conjoint analysis).

Setting: Ear, nose, and throat university hospitals in Cologne and Giessen; various branches of hearing aid dispensers.