![]() ![]() ![]() When no hearing aid is worn, no squelch has been observed. To date, studies in speech-in-noise understanding in patients with SSD who undergo cochlear implantation suggest that at 12 months after activation of the CI, binaural squelch only occurs in patients who use a hearing aid in the ear contralateral to the CI ( 6). Auditory mechanisms in which input from the two ears is integrated have functional importance, such as improvements in sound localization and recognition of speech, especially in noisy environments. Binaural summation results from the auditory system receiving redundant information from both ears, while binaural squelch refers to the advantage of adding an ear with a poorer SNR compared to listening with only the ear with the better SNR alone. It is important to note that this phenomenon results from a physical effect related to the mass of the head and not due to true binaural processing. The benefit gained from listening to the ear with the better signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) is known as the head shadow effect. Three measures of spatial hearing, summation, squelch, and head shadow, have been traditionally referenced in the literature. More recently it has been realized that patients with SSD who undergo cochlear implantation represent a unique opportunity for investigating the ability of patients to integrate inputs across the ears, in an electric-acoustic configuration, since these patients have audiologically NH in one ear.Īssessments of spatial hearing can serve as indicators of how well the auditory system is able to integrate and utilize information from the two ears. Recently, cochlear implants (CIs) have also been used in the treatment of severe unilateral tinnitus in individuals with single-sided deafness (SSD) ( 6, 7), and research over short-term time frames following surgery has demonstrated the success of this approach in reducing tinnitus severity ( 8). Bilateral cochlear implantation was introduced in an attempt to improve these abilities ( 2, 3, 4, 5), and has been shown to be highly beneficial for many patients ( 3). However, these patients still exhibit hearing deficits such as difficulties segregating speech in noise and poor sound localization abilities ( 1). ![]() Unilateral cochlear implantation has become a common treatment option for bilaterally deaf patients and has been shown to improve speech communication. ![]()
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