Timbral recognition and appraisal by adult cochlear implant users and normal-hearing adults [see comments]

Author(s): Knutson, J. F., Woodworth, G., Witt, S., DeBus, B.

Journal/Book: J Am Acad Audiol. 1998; 9: 1-19.

Abstract: The purpose of this study was to examine the appraisal and recognition of timbre (four different musical instruments) by recipients of Clarion cochlear implants (CIS strategy, 75- or 150-microsec pulse widths) and to compare their performance with that of normal-hearing listeners. Twenty-eight Clarion cochlear implant users and 41 normal-hearing listeners were asked to give a subjective assessment of the pleasantness of each instrument using a visual analog scale with anchors of "like very much" to "dislike very much," and to match each sound with a picture of the instrument they believed had produced it. No significant differences were found between the two different pulse widths for either appreciation or recognition; thus, data from the two pulse widths following 12 months of Clarion implant use were collapsed for further analyses. Significant differences in appraisal were found between normal-hearing listeners and implant recipients for two of the four instruments sampled. Normal-hearing adults were able to recognize all of the instruments with significantly greater accuracy than implant recipients. Performance on timbre perception tasks was correlated with speech perception and cognitive tasks.

Keyword(s): Adult. Aged. Cochlear Implantation. Cognition/physiology. Comparative Study. Deafness/surgery. Female. Hearing/physiology. Human. Male. Middle Age. Music. Pitch Discrimination. Speech Perception. Support, Non-U.S. Gov't. Support, U.S. Gov't, P.H.S.

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