Bilateral and unilateral cochlear implant users compared on speech perception in noise

Abstract

Objective: Compare speech performance in noise with matched bilateral cochlear implant (CICI) and unilateral cochlear implant (CI only) users. Design: Thirty CICI and 30 CI-only subjects were tested on a battery of speech perception tests in noise that use an eight-loudspeaker array. Results: On average, CICI subject's performance with speech in noise was significantly better than the CI-only subjects. Conclusion: The CICI group showed significantly better performance on speech perception in noise compared with the CI-only subjects, supporting the hypothesis that CICI is more beneficial than CI only. Copyright © 2010 by Lippincott Williams & Wilkins.