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DOI: 10.1055/s-0040-1711152
The impact of over- and undertones on the music perception of CI recipients
Introduction Listening to music, especially to classic one, is often difficult for CI patients due to poor spectral resolution and reduced dynamic range. The aim of the presented study was to rule out whether postlingually deafened CI recipients might benefit from the reduction of spectral complexity by the elimination of over- or the addition of undertones.
Matrial and Methods 17 postlingually single side deafened adults aged from 22 to 73 years with a CI experience of at least 3 months (in a range from 3 to 75 months) were included. First, the frequency mismatch between the acoustic and the implanted ear was measured and balanced by linear regression. Afterwards sinus tones and short pieces of melodies based on fundamental frequency mixed with different over- and undertones were presented to the CI ear. The patients were asked to compare the sound presented on the implanted ear to the original one given to the normal hearing ear. The fundamental frequency mixed with seven overtones served as a reference.
Results Both, the complete harmonic series and the combination of fundamental frequency mixed with the first or the third overtone lead to a sound impression on the implanted ear which was closest to the one perceived by the acoustic ear. Furthermore, CI recipients could recognize melodies most accurately, if presented only by the fundamental frequency. Adding an undertone did not show any advantage and was described to be dysphonic by the patients themselves.
Conclusion Our results show that a reduction of the complex sound of music to the pure fundamental frequency and one single overtone does not deteriorate music perception for CI users. This might be an interesting option in improving music appreciation in these patients and should be further investigated.
Poster-PDF A-1172.PDF
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Publication History
Article published online:
10 June 2020
© 2020. The Author(s). This is an open access article published by Thieme under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonDerivative-NonCommercial-License, permitting copying and reproduction so long as the original work is given appropriate credit. Contents may not be used for commercial purposes, or adapted, remixed, transformed or built upon. (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/).
© Georg Thieme Verlag KG
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