Effects of Training on Adult Cochlear Implant Users

描述（由申请人提供）：本提案的长期目标是开发个性化，高效和有效的培训方案和材料，以最大限度地提高人工耳蜗患者在现实听力条件下的表现。我们假设有针对性的对比训练可以极大地提高人工耳蜗患者在各种模拟现实听力条件下的表现，并且个性化的训练方案和材料可能是最大化训练效果所必需的。我们进一步假设，被动学习可能不能让人工耳蜗患者充分受益于先进的编码策略，而有针对性的听觉训练可能有助于患者获得新的处理方案提供的额外线索。在提出的研究中有三个具体目的。首先，我们建议测量听觉训练在模拟真实世界听力条件下的好处，包括噪音中的语音感知、电话语音感知和音乐感知。其次，我们建议制定个性化，高效和有效的培训方案和材料，以最大限度地提高培训效果。第三，我们提出量化听觉训练与语音处理器参数变化之间的相互作用。虽然提出的实验将在一定程度上独立评估听觉训练的不同方面，但有一些重叠的考虑领域可能会结合起来，以推进人工耳蜗患者的听觉康复技术。这些实验具有重要的理论意义，因为实验结果将揭示电听力中的听觉可塑性以及在评估实验语音处理器参数时训练的重要性。这些实验甚至具有更大的临床意义，因为结果将为听觉训练的好处提供强有力的证据，有望导致耳蜗植入患者可以在家中使用个人电脑进行负担得起、高效和有效的康复。我们期望这些训练方法，如果在真实世界的模拟中成功，将推广到实验室之外的改进性能。由于最近人工耳蜗技术的进步似乎达到了收益递减的地步，听觉训练可能为人工耳蜗患者提供了最具成本效益的方法，以最大限度地发挥人工耳蜗设备的效益。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): The long-term goals of the present proposal are to develop individualized, efficient and effective training protocols and materials to maximize cochlear implant patient performance in real-world listening conditions. We hypothesize that targeted contrast training can greatly improve cochlear implant patients' performance for a variety of simulated real-world listening conditions, and that individualized training protocols and materials may be necessary to maximize training outcomes. We further hypothesize that passive learning may not allow cochlear implant patients to receive the full benefit of advanced coding strategies, and that targeted auditory training may help patients access the additional cues provided by novel processing schemes. There are three specific aims in the proposed research. First, we propose to measure the benefits of auditory training in simulated real-world listening conditions, including speech perception in noise, speech perception via telephone, and music perception. Second, we propose to develop individualized, efficient and effective training protocols and materials to maximize training outcomes. Third, we propose to quantify interactions between auditory training and changes to speech processor parameters. While the proposed experiments will evaluate different aspects of auditory training somewhat independently, there are areas of overlapping consideration that may be combined to advance auditory rehabilitation techniques for cochlear implant patients. These proposed experiments have great theoretical significance, as the results will shed light on auditory plasticity in electric hearing and the importance of training when evaluating experimental speech processor parameters. The experiments have even greater clinical significance, as the results will provide strong evidence of the benefits of auditory training, hopefully leading to affordable, efficient and effective rehabilitation that cochlear implant patients can perform at home, using personal computers. We expect that these training approaches, if successful in real-world simulations, will generalize to improved performance outside the lab. As recent advances in implant technology seem to be reaching the point of diminishing returns, auditory training may provide the most cost-effective approach for cochlear implant patients to maximize the benefit of the implant device.