Timothy J Davis1, René H Gifford1. 1. Department of Hearing and Speech Sciences, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN.
Abstract
Purpose: The primary purpose of this study was to derive spatial release from masking (SRM) performance-azimuth functions for bilateral cochlear implant (CI) users to provide a thorough description of SRM as a function of target/distracter spatial configuration. The secondary purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of the microphone location for SRM in a within-subject study design. Method: Speech recognition was measured in 12 adults with bilateral CIs for 11 spatial separations ranging from -90° to +90° in 20° steps using an adaptive block design. Five of the 12 participants were tested with both the behind-the-ear microphones and a T-mic configuration to further investigate the effect of mic location on SRM. Results: SRM can be significantly affected by the hemifield origin of the distracter stimulus-particularly for listeners with interaural asymmetry in speech understanding. The greatest SRM was observed with a distracter positioned 50° away from the target. There was no effect of mic location on SRM for the current experimental design. Conclusion: Our results demonstrate that the traditional assessment of SRM with a distracter positioned at 90° azimuth may underestimate maximum performance for individuals with bilateral CIs.
Purpose: The primary purpose of this study was to derive spatial release from masking (SRM) performance-azimuth functions for bilateral cochlear implant (CI) users to provide a thorough description of SRM as a function of target/distracter spatial configuration. The secondary purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of the microphone location for SRM in a within-subject study design. Method: Speech recognition was measured in 12 adults with bilateral CIs for 11 spatial separations ranging from -90° to +90° in 20° steps using an adaptive block design. Five of the 12 participants were tested with both the behind-the-ear microphones and a T-mic configuration to further investigate the effect of mic location on SRM. Results:SRM can be significantly affected by the hemifield origin of the distracter stimulus-particularly for listeners with interaural asymmetry in speech understanding. The greatest SRM was observed with a distracter positioned 50° away from the target. There was no effect of mic location on SRM for the current experimental design. Conclusion: Our results demonstrate that the traditional assessment of SRM with a distracter positioned at 90° azimuth may underestimate maximum performance for individuals with bilateral CIs.
Authors: Elizabeth R Kolberg; Sterling W Sheffield; Timothy J Davis; Linsey W Sunderhaus; René H Gifford Journal: J Am Acad Audiol Date: 2015-01 Impact factor: 1.664
Authors: Philipos C Loizou; Yi Hu; Ruth Litovsky; Gongqiang Yu; Robert Peters; Jennifer Lake; Peter Roland Journal: J Acoust Soc Am Date: 2009-01 Impact factor: 1.840