Speech-perception abilities of patients using cochlear implants, vibrotac

The speech-perception ability reported from profound hearing impaired persons using different technical aids: hearing aids, cochlear implants, or tactile aids, varies widely. A test-battery was constructed that consisted of segmental and suprasegmental tasks and speech tracking. Two presentation modalities were used, vision only and visual information supplemented with the assistive device. Deafened adults, subjects with profound postlingual hearing loss, and normally hearing subjects artificially deafened participated in this study. The results show that singlechannel tactile aids do not give sufficient support during speechreading and that the use of a hearing aid by listeners with some residual hearing often provided more information than cochlear implants. However, a group of hearing-aid users got very limited benefit from their aids. They mighl, therefore, be candidates for implantation. Criteria for patient selection can, however, not be based on pure tone audiometry.