Place specificity measured in forward and interleaved masking in cochlear implants

J Acoust Soc Am. 2013 Oct;134(4):EL314-20. doi: 10.1121/1.4819182.

Abstract

Interleaved masking in cochlear implants is analogous to acoustic simultaneous masking and is relevant to speech processing strategies that interleave pulses on concurrently activated electrodes. In this study, spatial decay of masking as the distance between masker and probe increases was compared between forward and interleaved masking in the same group of cochlear implant users. Spatial masking patterns and the measures of place specificity were similar between forward and interleaved masking. Unlike acoustic hearing where broader tuning curves are obtained in simultaneous masking, the type of masking experiment did not influence the measure of place specificity in cochlear implants.

Publication types

  • Comparative Study
  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Acoustic Stimulation
  • Aged
  • Auditory Threshold
  • Cochlear Implantation / instrumentation*
  • Cochlear Implants*
  • Correction of Hearing Impairment / instrumentation*
  • Female
  • Humans
  • Male
  • Middle Aged
  • Noise / adverse effects*
  • Pattern Recognition, Physiological
  • Perceptual Masking*
  • Persons With Hearing Impairments / psychology
  • Persons With Hearing Impairments / rehabilitation*
  • Sound Localization*