The Effect of Noise and Reverberation on Spatial Perception in Sequential Bilateral Cochlear Implant Users

Abstract

Background Spatial orientation is an executive function which includes vital activities and auditory organization according to daily bodily movements, directionality, and environmental information. It is directly linked to the vision and hearing and used throughout life, building complex relationships with these systems, based on learning.

Purpose Our purpose in our study is to try to see the effects of noise and reverberation on the users by comparing the localization and auditory performances of the cochlear implant (CI) user individuals in a silent, noisy environment and reverberation.

Research Design All subjects were subjected to immitancemetric/audiological tests, language development test (TIFALDI, Receptive/Expressive Language Test score 7 years and above), localization determination in noise, and localization determination test in reverberation. Study sample: In our study, 18 female and 16 male bilateral CI users with profound sensorineural hearing loss were included. The age range of subjects was 8 years 4 months and 10 years 11 months.

Data Collection and Analysis Data from subjects were collected prospectively. Data analysis was analyzed with SPSS 21 program.

Results It was observed that the subjects did not have difficulty in determining the direction in silent condition, but they had a significant difficulty in localizing the 135-, 225-, and 315-degree angles especially when the noise was signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) –10 dB and the reverberation was 06 and 09 second (p ≤ 0.005). Subjects' performances were significantly altered in sequential implanted users both when the SNR was changed and in the presence of reverberation (p < 0.05).

Conclusion As a result of our study, it is thought that individuals with hearing loss will experience intense difficulties, especially in noisy and reverberant environments such as schools, and using assistive listening devices in these environmental conditions will contribute positively to their academic development.

Keywords

spatial perception - reverberation - noise - cochlear implants - hearing loss

Ethical Approval

This study was approved by the clinical research local ethics committee (Ethical Committee No: 83045809–604.01.02) and written consent was obtained from all individuals in the study.

Data Availability Statement

All data generated or analyzed during this study are included in this article. Further enquiries can be directed to the corresponding author.

Publication History

Received: 13 September 2022

Accepted: 30 June 2023

Article published online:
29 October 2024

• References

• 1 McCreery RW, Walker EA, Spratford M, Lewis D, Brennan M. Auditory, cognitive, and linguistic factors predict speech recognition in adverse listening conditions for children with hearing loss. Front Neurosci 2019; 13: 1093
• 2 Mueller MF, Meisenbacher K, Lai WK, Dillier N. Sound localization with bilateral cochlear implants in noise: how much do head movements contribute to localization?. Cochlear Implants Int 2014; 15 (01) 36-42
• 3 Thompson EC. Hearing in noise in early childhood: The dynamic and integrated system. Dev Cogn Neurosci 2019 Oct; 39: 100672
• 4 Kerber S, Seeber BU. Sound localization in noise by normal-hearing listeners and cochlear implant users. Ear Hear 2012; 33 (04) 445-457
• 5 Bennett EE, Litovsky RY. Sound localization in toddlers with normal hearing and with bilateral cochlear implants revealed through a novel “reaching for sound” task. J Am Acad Audiol 2020; 31 (03) 195-208
• 6 Wang D, Kjems U, Pedersen MS, Boldt JB, Lunner T. Speech intelligibility in background noise with ideal binary time-frequency masking. J Acoust Soc Am 2009; 125 (04) 2336-2347
• 7 Badajoz-Davila J, Buchholz JM, Van-Hoesel R. Effect of noise and reverberation on speech intelligibility in cochlear implant recipients considering realistic sound environments. J Acoust Soc Am 2020 May; 147 (05) 3538
• 8 Kokkinakis K. Binaural speech understanding with bilateral cochlear implants in reverberation. Am J Audiol 2018; 27 (01) 85-94
• 9 Peters BR, Litovsky R, Parkinson A, Lake J. Importance of age and postimplantation experience on speech perception measures in children with sequential bilateral cochlear implants. Otol Neurotol 2007; 28 (05) 649-657
• 10 Henkin Y, Swead RT, Roth DAE. et al. Evidence for a right cochlear implant advantage in simultaneous bilateral cochlear implantation. Laryngoscope 2014; 124 (08) 1937-1941
• 11 Lammers MJW, Venekamp RP, Grolman W, van der Heijden GJMG. Bilateral cochlear implantation in children and the impact of the inter-implant interval. Laryngoscope 2014; 124 (04) 993-999
• 12 Loiselle LH, Dorman MF, Yost WA, Cook SJ, Gifford RH. Using ILD or ITD cues for sound source localization and speech understanding in a complex listening environment by listeners with bilateral and with hearing-preservation cochlear implants. J Speech Lang Hear Res 2016; 59 (04) 810-818
• 13 Zheng Y, Koehnke J, Besing J. Combined effects of noise and reverberation on sound localization for listeners with normal hearing and bilateral cochlear implants. Am J Audiol 2017; 26 (04) 519-530
• 14 Killan C, Scally A, Killan E, Totten C, Raine C. Factors affecting sound-source localization in children with simultaneous or sequential bilateral cochlear implants. Ear Hear 2019; 40 (04) 870-877
• 15 Williges B, Jürgens T, Hu H, Dietz M. Coherent coding of enhanced interaural cues improves sound localization in noise with bilateral cochlear implants. Trends Hear 2018; 22: 2331216518781746
• 16 Iglehart F. Speech perception in classroom acoustics by children with cochlear implants and with typical hearing. Am J Audiol 2016; 25 (02) 100-109