| The cochlear implant is a surgically implanted electronic device that can restore partial hearing to a person who is deaf or hearing impaired. This neural prosthesis provides similar functions of the inner ear by electrically stimulating the auditory nerve. Cochlear implant users are able to understand speech in quiet settings, but comprehension is often severely reduced by interfering noise. Our research group seeks to improve cochlear implant performance in loud and noisy environments. We have designed experiments that investigate how the human auditory system processes electric stimulation and separates complex sound interactions into individual sources. Specifically, we look into auditory masking, the process by which the threshold of audibility for one sound is raised by the presence of another sound. The present results show that electric stimulation can mask both electric and acoustic signals under certain conditions. The psychophysical mechanisms of electric masking will be analyzed and contrasted with normal hearing to determine how to optimize electrical parameters and processing strategies. |
PDF Full Text Request