Abstract
While test scores in rhythm perception of cochlear implant (CI) users are similar to those of normal hearing people, spectral perception (e.g. me- lody or timbre discrimination) remains a great challenge. Here, previous studies in the field of music perception with CIs have only investigated auditory stimulation. Nevertheless, considering findings in the field of multimodal interaction, which suggest a strong correlation between the auditory and the somatosensory system, this empirical study aims to ex- amine the possibility of enhancing the melody discrimination of child im- plant users by presenting additional vibrotactile information. In a within-subject design, music perception performance scores were compared for the audio-only and the audio-vibrotactile condition. For the vibrotactile stimulation a wooden chair was built, which transmitted the vibratory inputs by using two bass shakers. The audio stimuli were monophonic melodies taken from the child version of the Montréal Battery for the Evaluation of Amusia. Results indicate a significant improvement of the me- lody perception of child implant users, while rhythm related tasks were assessed similarly well. These results imply that CI users could benefit from additional vibrotactile stimulation during music listening.
| Original language | Undefined/Unknown |
|---|---|
| Title of host publication | Fortschritte der Akustik: Tagungsband d. 41. DAGA |
| Editors | Stefan Becker |
| Place of Publication | Oldenburg |
| Publisher | Deutsche Gesellschaft für Akustik |
| Pages | 1203-1205 |
| Number of pages | 3 |
| Publication status | Published - 2015 |