An investigation of input level range for the Nucleus 24 cochlear implant system: Speech perception performance, program preference, and loudness comfort ratings

Abstract

Objective: Cochlear implant recipients often have limited access to lower level speech sounds. In this study we evaluated the effects of varying the input range characteristics of the Nucleus 24 cochlear implant system on recognition of vowels, consonants, and sentences in noise and on listening in everyday life. Design: Twelve subjects participated in the study that was divided into two parts. In Part 1 subjects used speech processor (Nucleus 24 SPrint™) programs adjusted for three input sensitivity settings: a standard or default microphone sensitivity setting (MS 8), a setting that increased the input sensitivity by 10.5 dB (MS 15), and the same setting that increased input sensitivity bu..