Speech Perception in Bimodal Hearing

The protocol has two aims; Aim 1 involves two experiments and Aim 2 involves three experiments. Under Aim 1, the investigator will identify that the frequency and time ranges of consonants produce consonant enhancement (i.e., "target frequency range" and "target time range", respectively), and that the frequency and time ranges of consonants cause consonant confusions (i.e., "conflicting frequency range" and "conflicting time range", respectively). Aim 2 tests the effects of the frequency and time ranges, identified through Aim 1 on consonant recognition with each of the four signal processing conditions: no signal processing (i.e., control condition), the target frequency and time ranges intensified alone, the conflicting frequency and time ranges suppressed alone, and both target range intensification and conflicting range suppression.

Inclusion Criteria:The proposed work requires the following qualifications to be met:be age from 18-74 years old,be native speakers of American English,be post-lingually deafened in both ears,be healthy enough to manipulate a computer mouse and read information on a computer monitor, andhave at least 1-year of bimodal use prior to initiation of study participation to account for continuous improvement.Exclusion Criteria:Subjects that cannot speak, are unable to read information on a computer monitor, and/or cannot manipulate a computer mouse are not eligible for this study.Our study will also exclude participants under the age of 18.