Wilhelm Wimmer1, Marco Caversaccio, Martin Kompis. 1. *Artificial Hearing Research, ARTORG Center for Biomedical Engineering Research, and †Department of ENT, Head and Neck Surgery, Inselspital, University of Bern, Switzerland.
Abstract
INTRODUCTION: The Rondo is a single-unit cochlear implant (CI) audio processor comprising the identical components as its behind-the-ear predecessor, the Opus 2. An interchange of the Opus 2 with the Rondo leads to a shift of the microphone position toward the back of the head. This study aimed to investigate the influence of the Rondo wearing position on speech intelligibility in noise. METHODS: Speech intelligibility in noise was measured in 4 spatial configurations with 12 experienced CI users using the German adaptive Oldenburg sentence test. A physical model and a numerical model were used to enable a comparison of the observations. RESULTS: No statistically significant differences of the speech intelligibility were found in the situations in which the signal came from the front and the noise came from the frontal, ipsilateral, or contralateral side. The signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) was significantly better with the Opus 2 in the case with the noise presented from the back (4.4 dB, p < 0.001). The differences in the SNR were significantly worse with the Rondo processors placed further behind the ear than closer to the ear. CONCLUSION: The study indicates that CI users with the receiver/stimulator implanted in positions further behind the ear are expected to have higher difficulties in noisy situations when wearing the single-unit audio processor.
INTRODUCTION: The Rondo is a single-unit cochlear implant (CI) audio processor comprising the identical components as its behind-the-ear predecessor, the Opus 2. An interchange of the Opus 2 with the Rondo leads to a shift of the microphone position toward the back of the head. This study aimed to investigate the influence of the Rondo wearing position on speech intelligibility in noise. METHODS: Speech intelligibility in noise was measured in 4 spatial configurations with 12 experienced CI users using the German adaptive Oldenburg sentence test. A physical model and a numerical model were used to enable a comparison of the observations. RESULTS: No statistically significant differences of the speech intelligibility were found in the situations in which the signal came from the front and the noise came from the frontal, ipsilateral, or contralateral side. The signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) was significantly better with the Opus 2 in the case with the noise presented from the back (4.4 dB, p < 0.001). The differences in the SNR were significantly worse with the Rondo processors placed further behind the ear than closer to the ear. CONCLUSION: The study indicates that CI users with the receiver/stimulator implanted in positions further behind the ear are expected to have higher difficulties in noisy situations when wearing the single-unit audio processor.
Authors: Stefan Dazert; Jan Peter Thomas; Andreas Büchner; Joachim Müller; John Martin Hempel; Hubert Löwenheim; Robert Mlynski Journal: Eur Arch Otorhinolaryngol Date: 2016-12-01 Impact factor: 2.503
Authors: Paul van de Heyning; Griet Mertens; Vedat Topsakal; Ruben de Brito; Wilhelm Wimmer; Marco D Caversaccio; Stefan Dazert; Stefan Volkenstein; Mario Zernotti; Lorne S Parnes; Hinrich Staecker; Iain A Bruce; Gunesh Rajan; Marcus Atlas; Peter Friedland; Piotr H Skarzynski; Serafima Sugarova; Vladislav Kuzovkov; Abdulrahman Hagr; Robert Mlynski; Joachim Schmutzhard; Shin-Ichi Usami; Luis Lassaletta; Javier Gavilán; Benoit Godey; Christopher H Raine; Rudolf Hagen; Georg M Sprinzl; Kevin Brown; Wolf-Dieter Baumgartner; Eva Karltorp Journal: Eur Arch Otorhinolaryngol Date: 2021-03-31 Impact factor: 2.503