Evaluation of spectral resolution and speech, spatial perception and hearing quality in cochlear implant users

Spectral resolution ability is associated with many aspects of functional hearing and is adversely affected by various factors in cochlear implant (CI) users. The aim of this study was to evaluate the spectral resolution skills assessed by the Spectral – Temporally Modulated Ripple Test (SMRT) and the 'Speech Perception (SP)', 'Spatial Hearing (SH)' and 'Hearing Quality (HQ)' subscales of the Speech, Spatial and Qualities of Hearing Scale (SSQ) Scale and the overall score of unilateral CI users and individuals with bilateral normal hearing and to reveal the relationship between objective and subjective test results. A total of 40 individuals between the ages of 18-45 years who had been using unilateral CI for at least 1 year and had bilateral normal hearing participated in the study group. There is no significant difference between the groups in terms of gender (p>0.05) and age (p>0.05). It was found that there was a statistically significant difference (p<0.05) between the groups in the SMRT score obtained from the study and control groups and in the SP, SH, HQ subscales and general score of the SSQ scale and that the scores obtained from the control group were better. When correlational analysis was analyzed, a statistically significant, positive and moderate relationship was found between the SMRT score of the study group and SP (r=0.474, p<0.05), HQ (r=0.576, p<0.05) and general score (r=0.463, p<0.05), while no significant relationship was found with the SH score (r=0.267, p>0.05). A statistically significant, positive and moderate relationship was found between the SMRT score of the control group and the SP (r=0.539, p<0.05) and HQ scores (r=0.490, p<0.05), and a statistically significant, positive and strong relationship was found between the SH (r=0.813, p<0.05) and overall scores (r=0.819, p<0.05). As a result, a correlation was found between spectral resolution, which is an indicator of bottom-up input quality, and the SP, SH, HQ subscales and the overall score of the SSQ scale, except for the SH score of the study group.