Logo image
Back
Individual differences in binaural integration approach and integration consistency in Cochlear implant users
Abstract   Peer reviewed

Individual differences in binaural integration approach and integration consistency in Cochlear implant users

John B. Muegge and Bob McMurray
The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America, Vol.159(4_Supplement), pp.A320-A320
08/01/2026
DOI: 10.1121/10.0045865

View Online

Abstract

For Cochlear implant (CI) users (and other listeners with hearing loss), access to binaural hearing is associated with improved speech perception and quality of life outcomes relative to monoaural configurations. This benefit may be attributed to a number of reasons, but one unexplored factor is the strategy listeners employ when integrating speech information across ears—for instance, whether they average inputs together or ignore information from a worse-performing ear. Recent work examined this in listeners with hearing aids, discovering a range of approaches. Here, we extend this to listeners with single sided deafness (SSD) treated with a CI, in particular examining whether these listeners have a tendency to ignore input from their implanted ear. We tested listeners with a speech categorization task once in either ear alone and again diotically, then characterized performance across these conditions as one of seven strategies (e.g., ignoring electric input and averaging inputs) via a gradient descent model-fitting technique. We then assessed the consistency with which each listener displayed these strategies across speech contrasts with a permutations analysis. Interestingly, SSD listeners demonstrate a wide range of approaches and vary in how consistently they apply these strategies, but rarely do they disregard input from their implant.

Details

Metrics

1 Record Views
Logo image