Comparison of Word Recognition Score in White Noise in Patients with Cochlear Implant Prosthesis toward Patients with Hearing Aid

Cochlear implants make high-frequency information audible for patients, which is usually impossible using hearing aids. This study was conducted to compare cochlear implants with hearing aids regarding word recognition score in the presence of white noise.

In this analytical cross-sectional study, two groups of children with a cochlear implant or hearing aid (n=12 each) participated in 50 auditory rehabilitation sessions. The subjects were subject to hearing tests, namely  Pure Tone Audiometry Tympanometry, Speech Reception Threshold, and Word Discrimination Score in Quiet and in White Noise (WD in WN). Word discrimination in white noise test was performed in two levels: 1) In signal-to-noise (SNR) ratio of +5 dB, with the speaker volume and noise intensity equal to 60 dB and 55 dB, respectively, and 2) In SNR ratio of +10 dB, with the speaker volume and noise intensity equal to 60 dB and 50 dB, respectively.

According to the findings, in SNRs of +5 and +10 dB, the mean scores of WD in WN in children with implants (58% and 65%, respectively) were higher than those of children wearing hearing aids (50% and 58%, respectively). Based on the results of the t-test, the difference between WD in WN scores in the SNR ratios of +5 dB and +10 dB was significant in children with implant prosthesis compared to those wearing hearing aids (P=0.02 and P=0.03, respectively).

It can be concluded that receiving a cochlear implant, rather than hearing aids, along with participating in auditory rehabilitation sessions can lead to more effective and efficient changes in childrenchr('39')s hearing function and increase their speech comprehension.