Environmental sound perception in adults with hearing loss and cochlear implants

Perception of environmental sounds is crucial for safety, independence, and quality-of-life among adults with hearing loss. The objective of this study was (Experiment 1) to longitudinally assess environmental sound recognition (ESR) in a sample of postlingually deafened adults before and after receiving cochlear implants (CIs) and (Experiment 2) to cross-sectionally assess the ability of adults with CIs to identify safety-relevant environmental sounds. For Experiment 1, 20 postlingually deafened adults were tested with hearing aids on the Familiar Environmental Sound Test-Identification pre-CI and 6 months post-CI. A subset of 11 participants were also tested 12-months post-CI. Average ESR accuracy pre-CI (M = 63.60%) was not significantly different from ESR accuracy 6-months (M = 65.40%) or 12-months (M = 69.09%) post-CI. For Experiment 2, 21 experienced adult CI users completed an ESR test consisting of 42 common environmental sounds, 28 of which were safety-relevant, along with 14 control sounds. Overall, ESR accuracy was 57% correct for safety-relevant sounds and 55% correct for control sounds. These findings suggest mediocre ESR in postlingual adult CI users for safety-relevant and other environmental sounds. Deficits in identification of environmental sounds may put CI listeners at increased safety risks and may require specific rehabilitation to improve outcomes.