Two ears and two (or more?) devices: a pediatric case study of bilateral profound hearing loss.

Advances in technology and expanding candidacy guidelines have motivated many clinics to consider children with precipitously sloping high-frequency hearing loss as candidates for cochlear implants (CIs). A case study is presented of a pediatric CI patient whose hearing thresholds were preserved within 10 dB of preimplant levels (125-750 Hz) after receiving a fully inserted 31.5-mm electrode array at one ear.

The effect of instantaneous input dynamic range setting on the speech perception of children with the nucleus 24 implant.

Objective: The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of a wider instantaneous input dynamic range (IIDR) setting on speech perception and comfort in quiet and noise for children wearing the Nucleus 24 implant system and the Freedom speech processor. In addition, children's ability to understand soft and conversational level speech in relation to aided sound-field thresholds was examined.

Design: Thirty children (age, 7 to 17 years) with the Nucleus 24 cochlear implant system and the Freedom speech processor with two different IIDR settings (30 versus 40 dB) were tested on the Consonant Nucleus Consonant (CNC) word test at 50 and 60 dB SPL, the Bamford-Kowal-Bench Speech in Noise Test, and a loudness rating task for four-talker speech noise.

Digital noise reduction: outcomes from laboratory and field studies.

The purpose of this study was to determine the impact of a digital noise reduction (DNR) scheme implemented in a current commercial hearing aid. In a double-blinded design, three conditions of onset time (4, 8, 16 seconds) were randomly assigned to the 25 subjects, plus one condition wherein the noise-reduction feature was disengaged. Subsequently, a fifth trial/condition, wherein the subject had access to three memories in which the different onsets were programmed, was carried out.