Performance of the new Clarion speech processor 1.2 in quiet and in noise
Battmer, R.D.; Feldmeier, I.; Kohlenberg, A.; Lenarz, T.
American Journal of Otology 18(6 Suppl): S144-S146
1997
ISSN/ISBN: 0192-9763 PMID: 9391637 Document Number: 483025
Objective: To evaluate the benefit of the new Clarion speech processor 1.2. Study Design: Fifty-two subjects who received a Clarion cochlear implant during 1993 and 1995 were upgraded with the new Clarion speech processor 1.2. All subjects were tested with a speech test battery in quiet and in noise, first with the 1.0 processor and 1 month later with the new 1.2 processor. To avoid ceiling or floor effects, the subjects were divided into three groups according to their test results with the Freiburger Monosyllabic Word Test (group A < 10%, group B 10-50%, and group C > 50%). Results: The results indicated that all subjects had an improvement with the new speech processor. This improvement was statistically significant (p < 0.05) for group C in all conditions, and for group B in the tests with noise. Conclusion: While the better and good performers improved their test scores significantly, low performers seemed to derive little benefit from the technical improvements of the same speech processing strategy. Perhaps this group might gain more from a different processing scheme.