Contribution of FM System for Speech Recognition in Noise in Cochlear Implantees

Abstract

The aim of the study was to evaluate the influence of the FM system for each participant using a cochlear implant by evaluating the speech identification performance in noise, with and without the FM system, with different durations of cochlear implant use. The study was designed using data from 12 children with pre-lingual hearing loss using cochlear implants. The data were collected in two phases. 1) Establishing SRT in noise in CI alone condition 2) Establishing SRT in noise in CI+FM condition. The results revealed that the mean scores obtained in the two test conditions, i.e.; CI alone and CI+FM, were significantly different and that the CI+FM condition gave better SNR compared to CI alone condition. The difference in mean scores was found to be 11.66 dB which was statistically significant. The results also indicated that there was no significant difference among the participants, with and without FM system, with different durations of CI use ranging from 9 months to 25 months. There is a significant improvement in the speech perception in noise when FM system is coupled to a cochlear implant. Even when the noise was 10 to 15 dB higher than the signal, the speech perception was unaltered and that the use of FM system with a cochlear implant is an effective means to improve the perception of speech in the presence of noise. FM system should be considered for children with CIs, which may be a cost-effective solution for improving speech recognition in noise. The findings of this study support the use of FM system by cochlear implantees, especially in class room situations.