TY  - JOUR
A1  - Weißgerber, Tobias
A1  - Stöver, Timo
A1  - Baumann, Uwe
T1  - Speech perception in noise : impact of directional microphones in users of combined electric-acoustic stimulation
T2  - PLoS one
N2  - Objectives: Combined electric-acoustic stimulation (EAS) is a well-accepted therapeutic treatment for cochlear implant (CI) users with residual hearing in the low frequencies but severe to profound hearing loss in the high frequencies. The recently introduced SONNETeas audio processor offers different microphone directionality (MD) settings and wind noise reduction (WNR) as front-end processing. The aim of this study was to compare speech perception in quiet and noise between two EAS audio processors DUET 2 and SONNETeas, to assess the impact of MD and WNR on speech perception in EAS users in the absence of wind. Furthermore, subjective rating of hearing performance was registered.
Method: Speech perception and subjective rating with SONNETeas or DUET 2 audio processor were assessed in 10 experienced EAS users. Speech perception was measured in quiet and in a diffuse noise setup (MSNF). The SONNETeas processor was tested with three MD settings omnidirectional/natural/adaptive and with different intensities of WNR. Subjective rating of auditory benefit and sound quality was rated using two questionnaires.
Results: There was no significant difference between DUET 2 and SONNETeas processor using the omnidirectional microphone in quiet and in noise. There was a significant improvement in SRT with MD settings natural (2.2 dB) and adaptive (3.6 dB). No detrimental effect of the WNR algorithm on speech perception was found in the absence of wind. Sound quality was rated as “moderate” for both audio processors.
Conclusions: The different MD settings of the SONNETeas can provide EAS users with better speech perception compared to an omnidirectional microphone. Concerning speech perception in quiet and quality of life, the performance of the DUET 2 and SONNETeas audio processors was comparable.
KW  - Microphones
KW  - Speech signal processing
KW  - Audio equipment
KW  - Sensory perception
KW  - Ears
KW  - Audio signal processing
KW  - Audiology
KW  - Functional electrical stimulation
Y1  - 2019
UR  - http://publikationen.ub.uni-frankfurt.de/frontdoor/index/index/docId/48444
UR  - https://nbn-resolving.org/urn:nbn:de:hebis:30:3-484448
SN  - 1932-6203
N1  - Copyright: © 2019 Weissgerber et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.
VL  - 14
IS  - (3): e0213251
SP  - 1
EP  - 14
PB  - PLoS
CY  - Lawrence, Kan.
ER  -