Auditory Temporal Processing Ability in Cochlear-Implant Users: The Effects of Age and Peripheral Neural Survival
| dc.contributor.advisor | Goupell, Matthew J | en_US |
| dc.contributor.author | Shader, Maureen Joyce | en_US |
| dc.contributor.department | Hearing and Speech Sciences | en_US |
| dc.contributor.publisher | Digital Repository at the University of Maryland | en_US |
| dc.contributor.publisher | University of Maryland (College Park, Md.) | en_US |
| dc.date.accessioned | 2019-09-27T05:39:27Z | |
| dc.date.available | 2019-09-27T05:39:27Z | |
| dc.date.issued | 2019 | en_US |
| dc.description.abstract | Cochlear implants (CIs) are a valuable tool in the treatment of hearing loss and are considered a safe and effective option for adults of all ages. Nevertheless, older adults with CIs do not always achieve comparable speech recognition performance to younger adults following implantation. The mechanism(s) underlying this age limitation are unknown. It was hypothesized that older CI users would demonstrate age-related deficits in auditory temporal processing ability, which could contribute to an age limitation in CI performance. This is because the ability to accurately encode temporal information is critical to speech recognition through a CI. The current studies were aimed at identifying age-related limitations for processing temporal information using a variety of electrical stimulation parameters with the goal of identifying parameters that could mitigate the negative effects of age on CI performance. Studies 1 and 2 measured auditory temporal processing ability for non-speech signals at the single-electrode level for various electrical stimulation rates. Specifically, Study 1 measured gap detection thresholds, which constitutes a simple, static measurement of temporal processing. Study 2 measured amplitude-modulation detection thresholds, which utilized relatively more complex and dynamic signals. Peripheral neural survival was estimated on each electrode location that was tested in Studies 1 and 2. Study 3 measured phoneme recognition ability for consonant contrasts that varied in discrete temporal cues at multiple stimulation rates and envelope modulation frequencies. Results demonstrated significant effects of age and/or peripheral neural survival on temporal processing ability in each study. However, age and the degree of neural survival were often strongly correlated, with older participants exhibiting poorer neural survival compared to younger participants. This result suggested that a substantial reduction in peripheral neural survival accompanies aging in older CI users, and that these factors should be considered together, rather than separately. Parametric variation in the stimulation settings impacted performance for some participants, but this effect was not consistent across participants, nor was it predicted by age or peripheral neural survival. | en_US |
| dc.identifier | https://doi.org/10.13016/f7gv-yhwh | |
| dc.identifier.uri | http://hdl.handle.net/1903/25032 | |
| dc.language.iso | en | en_US |
| dc.subject.pqcontrolled | Audiology | en_US |
| dc.subject.pquncontrolled | aging | en_US |
| dc.subject.pquncontrolled | cochlear implants | en_US |
| dc.subject.pquncontrolled | peripheral neural survival | en_US |
| dc.subject.pquncontrolled | temporal processing | en_US |
| dc.title | Auditory Temporal Processing Ability in Cochlear-Implant Users: The Effects of Age and Peripheral Neural Survival | en_US |
| dc.type | Dissertation | en_US |
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