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Original Article

Evaluation of a wireless remote microphone in bimodal cochlear implant recipients

, ORCID Icon, &
Pages 643-649 | Received 29 Sep 2016, Accepted 08 Mar 2017, Published online: 10 Apr 2017
 

Abstract

Objective: To evaluate the benefit of a wireless remote microphone (MM) for speech recognition in noise in bimodal adult cochlear implant (CI) users both in a test setting and in daily life. Design: This prospective study measured speech reception thresholds in noise in a repeated measures design with factors including bimodal hearing and MM use. The participants also had a 3-week trial period at home with the MM. Study sample: Thirteen post-lingually deafened adult bimodal CI users. Results: A significant improvement in SRT of 5.4 dB was found between the use of the CI with the MM and the use of the CI without the MM. By also pairing the MM to the hearing aid (HA) another improvement in SRT of 2.2 dB was found compared to the situation with the MM paired to the CI alone. In daily life, participants reported better speech perception for various challenging listening situations, when using the MM in the bimodal condition. Conclusion: There is a clear advantage of bimodal listening (CI and HA) compared to CI alone when applying advanced wireless remote microphone techniques to improve speech understanding in adult bimodal CI users.

Declaration of interest

This study was supported by Cochlear Ltd. and Resound Ltd. The authors report no conflicts of interest. The authors alone are responsible for the content and writing of this article.