Science Education News (SEN) Journal 2018 Science Education News Volume 67 Number 4 | Seite 36

ARTICLES
World-first Study into Cochlear Implants and Impact on Speech
By Helen Loughlin
Comparing predictors of how cochlear
recipients will hear speech; 31st August 2018
powerful tools that allow us to evaluate how a hearing impairment
may affect a cochlear implant recipient’s ability to understand
speech in background noise.”
Biomedical researchers from the University of Sydney, working
in collaboration with Cochlear Limited, have conducted a world-
first study that might lead to more accurate predictions of how
cochlear implant recipients are able to understand speech.
Ultimately this could allow for a cochlear implant to be tailored
to the specific characteristics of the hearing loss of the individual
using the device.
A cochlear implant located within the middle ear
Cochlear implant dreamstime
The researchers compared the accuracy of four different models
of the likelihood of recipients to understand speech. They
discovered that a new model, known as the ‘output signal to noise
ratio’ or OSNR, was superior in predicting the improvements
or decline in sentence recognition of actual cochlear implant
recipients.
In the study, published today in the journal ‘Ear & Hearing’, the
experts have found a correlation between a computer model and
the speech intelligibility in implant recipients. This might mean
that by improving the performance of the model, the performance
of individuals with cochlear implants may benefit in ways that
have never before been explored.
“Cochlear implants are remarkable devices that have changed
lives over the past several decades,” said lead author, PhD
candidate Greg Watkins from the School of Aerospace, Mechanical
and Mechatronic Engineering at Sydney University. However,
despite this amazing history, listening to and understanding
another person’s speech when there is a lot of background noise
is still much more difficult for people with cochlear implants than
it is for people with normal hearing.”
Evidence-based research
Very young deaf children can be fitted with cochlear implants -
the sooner they learn to use them the better the outcome
Greg, who received a cochlear implant himself in February,
explained that: “Computerised speech intelligibility models are
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SCIENCE EDUCATIONAL NEWS VOL 67 NO 4