Melodic interval perception with acoustic and electric hearing in bimodal and single-sided deaf cochlear implant listeners. 2021

Emily R Spitzer, and John J Galvin, and David R Friedmann, and David M Landsberger
New York University Grossman School of Medicine, Department of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, 462 1st Avenue, NBV 5E5, New York 10016, NY, USA. Electronic address: emily.spitzer@nyulangone.org.

Two notes sounded sequentially elicit melodic intervals and contours that form the basis of melody. Many previous studies have characterized pitch perception in cochlear implant (CI) users to be poor which may be due to the limited spectro-temporal resolution and/or spectral warping with electric hearing compared to acoustic hearing (AH). Poor pitch perception in CIs has been shown to distort melodic interval perception. To characterize this interval distortion, we recruited CI users with either normal (single sided deafness, SSD) or limited (bimodal) AH in the non-implanted ear. The contralateral AH allowed for a stable reference with which to compare melodic interval perception in the CI ear, within the same listener. Melodic interval perception was compared across acoustic and electric hearing in 9 CI listeners (4 bimodal and 5 SSD). Participants were asked to rank the size of a probe interval presented to the CI ear to a reference interval presented to the contralateral AH ear using a method of constant stimuli. Ipsilateral interval ranking was also measured within the AH ear to ensure that listeners understood the task and that interval ranking was stable and accurate within AH. Stimuli were delivered to the AH ear via headphones and to the CI ear via direct audio input (DAI) to participants' clinical processors. During testing, a reference and probe interval was presented and participants indicated which was larger. Ten comparisons for each reference-probe combination were presented. Psychometric functions were fit to the data to determine the probe interval size that matched the reference interval. Across all AH reference intervals, the mean matched CI interval was 1.74 times larger than the AH reference. However, there was great inter-subject variability. For some participants, CI interval distortion varied across different reference AH intervals; for others, CI interval distortion was constant. Within the AH ear, ipsilateral interval ranking was accurate, ensuring that participants understood the task. No significant differences in the patterns of results were observed between bimodal and SSD CI users. The present data show that much larger intervals were needed with the CI to match contralateral AH reference intervals. As such, input melodic patterns are likely to be perceived as frequency compressed and/or warped with electric hearing, with less variation among notes in the pattern. The high inter-subject variability in CI interval distortion suggests that CI signal processing should be optimized for individual CI users.

UI MeSH Term Description Entries
D010898 Pitch Perception A dimension of auditory sensation varying with cycles per second of the sound stimulus. Perception, Pitch,Perceptions, Pitch,Pitch Perceptions
D003054 Cochlear Implants Electronic hearing devices typically used for patients with normal outer and middle ear function, but defective inner ear function. In the COCHLEA, the hair cells (HAIR CELLS, VESTIBULAR) may be absent or damaged but there are residual nerve fibers. The device electrically stimulates the COCHLEAR NERVE to create sound sensation. Auditory Prosthesis,Cochlear Prosthesis,Implants, Cochlear,Auditory Prostheses,Cochlear Implant,Cochlear Prostheses,Implant, Cochlear,Prostheses, Auditory,Prostheses, Cochlear,Prosthesis, Auditory,Prosthesis, Cochlear
D003638 Deafness A general term for the complete loss of the ability to hear from both ears. Deafness Permanent,Hearing Loss Permanent,Prelingual Deafness,Deaf Mutism,Deaf-Mutism,Deafness, Acquired,Hearing Loss, Complete,Hearing Loss, Extreme,Acquired Deafness,Complete Hearing Loss,Deafness, Prelingual,Extreme Hearing Loss,Permanent, Deafness,Permanent, Hearing Loss,Permanents, Deafness
D006309 Hearing The ability or act of sensing and transducing ACOUSTIC STIMULATION to the CENTRAL NERVOUS SYSTEM. It is also called audition. Audition
D006801 Humans Members of the species Homo sapiens. Homo sapiens,Man (Taxonomy),Human,Man, Modern,Modern Man
D000162 Acoustics The branch of physics that deals with sound and sound waves. In medicine it is often applied in procedures in speech and hearing studies. With regard to the environment, it refers to the characteristics of a room, auditorium, theatre, building, etc. that determines the audibility or fidelity of sounds in it. (From Random House Unabridged Dictionary, 2d ed) Acoustic
D012837 Silver Sulfadiazine Antibacterial used topically in burn therapy. Brandiazin,Dermazin,Flamazine,Flammazine,SSD,SSD AF,Sicazine,Silvadene,Silvederma,Sulfafdiazine, Silver,Sulfargen,Thermazene,Silver Sulfafdiazine,Sulfadiazine, Silver
D013067 Speech Perception The process whereby an utterance is decoded into a representation in terms of linguistic units (sequences of phonetic segments which combine to form lexical and grammatical morphemes). Speech Discrimination,Discrimination, Speech,Perception, Speech
D019929 Cochlear Implantation Surgical insertion of an electronic hearing device (COCHLEAR IMPLANTS) with electrodes to the COCHLEAR NERVE in the inner ear to create sound sensation in patients with residual nerve fibers. Cochlear Prosthesis Implantation,Cochlear Implantations,Cochlear Prosthesis Implantations,Implantation, Cochlear,Implantation, Cochlear Prosthesis,Implantations, Cochlear,Implantations, Cochlear Prosthesis,Prosthesis Implantation, Cochlear,Prosthesis Implantations, Cochlear

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