Perception of Speech Pattern Contrasts via Cochlear Implants and Limited Hearing

Abstract

The ability to perceive four suprasegmental and eight segmental speech pattern contrasts was measured in several subject groups. Mean performance of a group of House 3M cochlear implantees was similar to the mean performance of a group of Nucleus implantees with a trend toward better perception of suprasegmentals in the former and better perception of segmentals in the latter. Intersubject variability was higher in the Nucleus implantees, the best subject achieving an open set phoneme recognition score of 40%. Data from a single subject showed considerably superior performance in an aided ear with a 95-dB hearing loss than in an ear implanted with the House 3M device. Data from normal subjects listening to low pass filtered speech provide a basis for evaluating the results obtained by implantees. The results, though limited, illustrate the potential value of analytical tests such as the speech pattern contrast test used in these studies.