Effect of Frequency Response Manipulations on Musical Sound Quality for Cochlear Implant Users.

The sample had unusually high musical training, above-average music listening, and a classical music preference, so it may not reflect typical cochlear implant users. Participants used different implant manufacturers, processors, and direct connect equipment, and optional front-end features were not required to be off. All clips were from popular music, so results may not apply to other genres. Frequency manipulations used broad ranges, so narrower effects may have been missed. Loudness normalization may have offset some effects by changing gain in other frequency bands.

One author serves on a medical advisory board and receives research funding or support from Advanced Bionics, Oticon Medical, and MED-EL. The same author served as Scientific Chair of the Music Advisory Board for MED-EL and serves as Chief Medical Officer and consultant for Spiral Therapeutics. Another author receives research funding from Oticon Medical and MED-EL for unrelated work. The study received no financial support.

Do not conclude that boosting bass or vocals improves music quality for cochlear implant users. No altered clip was rated significantly better than the unaltered reference clip. Gain increases were rated higher than reductions, not higher than the reference, and this pattern appeared mainly in some musically trained or classical music favorers.