UNDERSTANDING THE PERCEPTION OF SPEECH AND MUSIC SKILLS IN PEDIATRIC SUBJECTS USING COCHLEAR IMPLANTS AND EFFECT OF AGE ON PERCEPTION SKILLS FOR MUSIC IN THESE COCHLEAR IMPLANT USERS

Abstract

Background: Existing literature data is scarce concerning the perception of speech and music skills in young subjects that use the cochlear implants and have prelingual deafness with further lesser studies concerning the Indian context. Aim: The present study was aimed to understand the perception of speech and music skills in pediatric subjects using cochlear implants and effect of age on perception skills for music in these cochlear implant users.  Methods: The children were assessed for aided WRS (word recognition score) using PSI (Picture Speech Identification). The short version of MBEMA (Montreal Battery of Evaluation of Musical Abilities) in childhood was used to assess music perception abilities. Computer generated musical melodies of 3-4 s were used. Each trial included comparison and target melody separated by silent interval of 1.5ms. The listener decided if comparison and target melodies were different or same at presentation end. All test stimuli were presented in sound-treated room using laptop using free-field speakers. Results: The study results showed that performance was significantly better in subjects that were normal hearing compared to the subjects that were using the cochlear implants in all the three music preparation subsets with p-value of <0.001. Also, there was a strong positive correlation in memory with word recognition, rhythm perception, and melody. Age was seen as a significant predictor for perception of music.  Conclusion: The present study concludes that decoding of the music into timbre, melody, and rhythm elements which is a valuable approach to understand the music perception mediated by the cochlear implants. Professionals have better understanding for fundamental aspects of music perception and recognize the areas where implant users face high difficulty.