Experienced Adult Cochlear Implant Users Show Improved Speech Recognition When Target Fitting Parameters Are Applied.
Richard de Quillettes, Marre Kaandorp, Paul Merkus and 2 others
PMID 38755742WHAT IT FOUND
Adjusting cochlear implant settings to widen the dynamic range improved speech recognition in quiet by 4.9% on average for 18 experienced users.
However, understanding speech in noise did not improve. All participants eventually accepted the louder settings after a four-week acclimatization period.
Key findings
01Speech recognition in quiet improved significantly when fitting parameters were adjusted to widen the electrical dynamic range.
02Speech recognition in noise showed no significant difference between old and optimized settings.
03All participants chose to keep the new, louder settings after a four-week acclimatization period.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for SLPs
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What it does not show
The study included only 18 participants, making it a small pilot with limited statistical power. Participants were restricted to those with late-onset hearing loss and specific cochlear implant brands, so results may not apply to early-onset users or other devices. The target aided thresholds were not fully achieved in the group, meaning the effect of optimizing thresholds separately from dynamic range is unclear. The study took place at a single center, so generalizability to other clinical practices with different fitting habits is uncertain.
Declared interests
No specific conflicts of interest or funding sources were declared in the provided text.
The easy way to misread this
Do not assume that widening the dynamic range will help patients understand speech in noise, as this study found no significant improvement for that outcome. Also, do not apply these changes abruptly without counseling on loudness, as some patients required a progressive four-week acclimatization period to tolerate the new settings.