Phoneme Categorization in Prelingually Deaf Adult Cochlear Implant Users.

Purpose: Phoneme categorization (PC) for voice onset time and second formant transition was studied in adult cochlear implant (CI) users with early-onset deafness and hearing controls.

Method: Identification and discrimination tasks were administered to 30 participants implanted before 4 years of age, 21 participants implanted after 7 years of age, and 21 hearing individuals.

Results: Distinctive identification and discrimination functions confirmed PC within all groups.