This study examines how cochlear implant users understand and comprehend speech in realistic communication situations. Through six experiments measuring listening effort via pupillometry and discourse comprehension, we will investigate how linguistic context, cognitive demands, and processing time affect speech understanding in CI users, and in normal-hearing controls) to identify factors underlying communication resilience versus vulnerability and develop improved, ecologically valid assessment and rehabilitation strategies.
Subjects will be otherwise healthy normal-hearing and cochlear implant (CI) adult listeners (between 18 and 80 years old).
Individuals below 18 years of age.
Individuals with evidence of neurologic, vascular or psychiatric disease or dementia, and taking medications that might interfere with task performance.
Individuals with a history of language disorders (besides those associated with hearing loss for the CI users). Individuals who are non-native speakers of American English.
NYU Langone Health
Lead sponsor
National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders (NIDCD)
Collaborator