Results in cochlear implant recipients with substantial contralateral acoustic hearing

The present study evaluated longitudinal performance outcomes in adult cochlear implant recipients with substantial hearing in the contralateral ear (mean better-ear PTA of 23.7 dB HL; range 0–40 dB HL). Of the 19 participants, 10 used a better-ear (BE) hearing aid both pre- and post-implant. Test intervals included pre-implant, 6 and 12 months post-implant. Participants’ everyday listening condition was primarily a single hearing ear pre-implant and bimodal (CI + BE) post-implant. Results indicated significant improvement over time in the everyday listening condition for sentences at a soft presentation level, sentences in noise (either surrounding or toward the BE), and localization. Self-reported communication ability also improved significantly over time. Group mean CNC word scores for the implanted ear alone improved significantly pre- to post-implant. Ear conditions were compared at the 6-month post-implant test interval. The same measures that demonstrated improvement over time in the everyday list...