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Objectives The present study sought to assess (1) phone use habits and awareness of listening aids in adult cochlear implant bearers, and (2) objective and subjective benefit of listening aids for cell-phone communication. Material and methods A questionnaire was sent to 17 cochlear (Cochlear®) implanted adults to assess phone use and awareness of available listening aids. Speech perception without lip-reading was assessed in silence and in noise using Fournier dissyllabic word lists recorded on an iPhone 5C®, with and without listening aids. Subjective benefit was assessed according to listening aid system. Results Sixty-five percent of adult cochlear implant bearers regularly used a phone with all kinds of correspondent. Eighty-eight percent phoned only in quiet conditions; 53% did not answer unknown callers; 71% never used listening aids. Speech discrimination scores for disyllabic words recorded on the phone were respectively 69%, 63%, 45% and 16% in quiet and 50, 60 and 70 dB SPL noise. Speech perception in quiet and noise was improved by listening aids; the Roger system was the most beneficial, followed by the FM system, then the inductive system. Conclusion Listening aids are effective, but little known by adult cochlear implant bearers.

Introduction Cochlear implantation (CI) has been available for over 25 years in many countries worldwide. From very early on, it was quite clear that successful implantation was only possible when three major requirements were satisfied: qualified pre-operative patient selection, sophisticated CI surgery, and extensive post-operative rehabilitation. The whole process, assessment for the implantation, the surgery, and the post-operative rehabilitation, involves considerable time and energy as well as great expense to both the patient and the implant team. The decision to embark upon implantation in any individual case should be made jointly by the team and the patient after thoughtful consideration of the likely outcome. The patient should make his or her decision in the light of as much information as the team can provide. In order to ensure optimum benefit from the device, the suitability of the implant for a particular individual must be determined. Expectations about the implant procedure, its potential outcomes, and the considerable post-implant rehabilitation required must be clear and realistic. The implant team needs to provide a service that meets the needs of its patients (Mawman et al., 1996). From the very beginning of CI it was quite clear that the post-operative rehabilitation consists out of two phases: first the acute part soon after surgery to adjust the implantee to his/her new device and to fit the device to his/her individual need, and second the long-term part to ensure the functioning of the device for lifelong use, here referred to as ‘aftercare’. As advances in CI technology expand, the need/ demand for CI services continues to grow. Therefore, a major question for every CI program is how can access to CI services be assured for the increasing number of CI recipients without degrading the basic quality of their individual long-term care? Methods A group of five cochlear implant specialists from five different European countries discussed the issue of aftercare based on their experience and the specific settings of their CI programs. In order to provide a baseline for the discussion, a questionnaire was sent out before the meeting to the five centers to learn more about the experiences and settings in their specific countries; all five responded to the questionnaire. The aim of the meeting was to conclude the results and work out a proposal for future standardization of basic aftercare.

The range capability of underwater acoustic equipment installed onboard underwater vehicles is limited by the noise generated by propellers, hydraulic pumps.,,, Measuring this noise at sea is quite expensive. Here is described a procedure allowing the measurement of the radiated noise in test tanks. This method is derived from techniques previously developed in aerial acoustics and in electromagnetism.

Noise level generated by engines and propellers of scientific manned or unmanned subsea vehicles has direct influence on on-board acoustic system performances. Noise measurements at sea are a very expensive operation. Tank measurements are more suited, but reverberation by the bottom, the walls and the surface alters the accuracy of the results. Measurement methods exist in reverberation chambers for aerial acoustics as well as electromagnetism. This communication shows that the transfer of the SABINE law to underwater acoustic measurements can be fully valid. Theory and experiments confirm that in the 15/spl times/10/spl times/6 meters concrete tank of IFREMER, an uniform reverberated field is present. It is thus possible to reach the tank absorption and the reverberation time. The analytic formula which is given allows the prediction of the radiated noise in free field, from the effective measurements done in the reverberated field and the tank reverberation characteristics. Experiments with calibrated noise sources show an accuracy of /spl plusmn/1.5 decibel.