A bilateral cochlear implant user with exceptional musical hearing ability
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Date
2013-06
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Informa Healthcare
Abstract
Although the perception of music is generally poor in cochlear implant users, there are a few excellent
performers. Objective: The aim of this study was the assessment of different aspects of music perception
in one exceptional cochlear implant user. Design: The assessments included pitch direction discrimination,
melody and timbre recognition, relative and absolute pitch judgment and consonance rating of musical
notes presented through the sound processor(s). Study sample: An adult cochlear implant user with
musical background who lost her hearing postlingually, and five normally hearing listeners with musical
training participated in the study. Results: The CI user discriminated pitch direction for sounds differing
by one semitone and recognized melody with nearly 100% accuracy. Her results in timbre recognition
were better than average published data for cochlear implant users. Her consonance rating, and relative and
absolute pitch perception were comparable to normal hearing listeners with musical training. Conclusion:
The results in this study are an “existence proof” that excellent performance is possible on musical
perception tasks including pitch perception using present day cochlear implant technologies. Factors that
may explain this user’s exceptional performance are short duration of deafness, pre and post deafness
musical training and perfect pitch abilities before the onset of deafness.
Description
Keywords
Pitch Direction Discrimination, Melody Recognition, Timbre Recognition, Absolute Pitch, Relative Pitch, Consonance Rating, Cochlear Implant, Music Perception
Citation
Maarefvand, M., Marozeau, J. & Blamey, P.J. (2013). A bilateral cochlear implant user with exceptional musical hearing ability. International Journal of Audiology, 52 (6), 424-432.