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Purpose: Differences across language environments of prelingually deaf children who receive cochlear implants (CIs) may affect language acquisition; yet, whether mothers show individual differences in how they modify infant-directed (ID) compared with adult-directed (AD) speech has seldom been studied. This study assessed individual differences in how mothers realized speech modifications in ID register and whether these predicted differences in language outcomes for children with CIs. Method: Participants were 36 dyads of mothers and their children aged 0;8-2;5 (years;months) at the time of CI implantation. Mothers' spontaneous speech was recorded in a lab setting in ID or AD conditions before ~15 months postimplantation. Mothers' speech samples were characterized for acoustic-phonetic and lexical properties established as canonical indices of ID speech to typically hearing infants, such as vowel space area differences, fundamental frequency variability, and speech rate. Children with CIs completed longitudinal administrations of one or more standardized language assessment instruments at variable intervals from 6 months to 9.5 years postimplantation. Standardized scores on assessments administered longitudinally were used to calculate linear regressions, which gave rise to predicted language scores for children at 2 years postimplantation and language growth over 2-year intervals. Results: Mothers showed individual differences in how they modified speech in ID versus AD registers. Crucially, these individual differences significantly predicted differences in estimated language outcomes at 2 years postimplantation in children with CIs. Maternal speech variation in lexical quantity and vowel space area differences across ID and AD registers most frequently predicted estimates of language attainment in children with CIs, whereas prosodic differences played a minor role. Conclusion: Results support that caregiver language behaviors play a substantial role in explaining variability in language attainment in children receiving CIs.

Speech that has been artificially accelerated through time compression produces a notable deficit in recall of the speech content. This is especially so for adults with cochlear implants (CI). At the perceptual level, this deficit may be due to the sharply degraded CI signal, combined with the reduced richness of compressed speech. At the cognitive level, the rapidity of time-compressed speech can deprive the listener of the ordinarily available processing time present when speech is delivered at a normal speech rate. Two experiments are reported. Experiment 1 was conducted with 27 normal-hearing young adults as a proof-of-concept demonstration that restoring lost processing time by inserting silent pauses at linguistically salient points within a time-compressed narrative ("time-restoration") returns recall accuracy to a level approximating that for a normal speech rate. Noise vocoder conditions with 10 and 6 channels reduced the effectiveness of time-restoration. Pupil dilation indicated that additional effort was expended by participants while attempting to process the time-compressed narratives, with the effortful demand on resources reduced with time restoration. In Experiment 2, 15 adult CI users tested with the same (unvocoded) materials showed a similar pattern of behavioral and pupillary responses, but with the notable exception that meaningful recovery of recall accuracy with time-restoration was limited to a subgroup of CI users identified by better working memory spans, and better word and sentence recognition scores. Results are discussed in terms of sensory-cognitive interactions in data-limited and resource-limited processes among adult users of cochlear implants. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Recent research suggests that visual-acoustic biofeedback can be an effective treatment for residual speech errors, but adoption remains limited due to barriers including high cost and lack of familiarity with the technology. This case study reports results from the first participant to complete a course of visual-acoustic biofeedback using a not-for-profit iOS app, Speech Therapist's App for /r/ Treatment. Method: App-based biofeedback treatment for rhotic misarticulation was provided in weekly 30-min sessions for 20 weeks. Within-treatment progress was documented using clinician perceptual ratings and acoustic measures. Generalization gains were assessed using acoustic measures of word probes elicited during baseline, treatment, and maintenance sessions. Results: Both clinician ratings and acoustic measures indicated that the participant significantly improved her rhotic production accuracy in trials elicited during treatment sessions. However, these gains did not transfer to generalization probes. Conclusions: This study provides a proof-of-concept demonstration that app-based biofeedback is a viable alternative to costlier dedicated systems. Generalization of gains to contexts without biofeedback remains a challenge that requires further study. App-delivered biofeedback could enable clinician-research partnerships that would strengthen the evidence base while providing enhanced treatment for children with residual rhotic errors. Supplemental Material: https://doi.org/10.23641/asha. 5116318, This special issue contains selected papers from the March 2016 Conference on Motor Speech held in Newport Beach, CA. Deviations in speech sound production can impact intelligibility and pose a [...]

The effect of feedback and materials on perceptual learning was examined in listeners with normal hearing who were exposed to cochlear implant simulations. Generalization was most robust when feedback paired the spectrally degraded sentences with their written transcriptions, promoting mapping between the degraded signal and its acoustic-phonetic representation. Transfer-appropriate processing theory suggests that such feedback was most successful because the original learning conditions were reinstated at testing: Performance was facilitated when both training and testing contained degraded stimuli. In addition, the effect of semantic context on generalization was assessed by training listeners on meaningful or anomalous sentences. Training with anomalous sentences was as effective as that with meaningful sentences, suggesting that listeners were encouraged to use acoustic-phonetic information to identify speech than to make predictions from semantic context. (Contains 1 table and 3 figures.)

A study investigated whether two speech measures (peak intraoral air pressure (IOP) and IOP duration) obtained during production of intervocalic stops would be altered by the presence or absence of a cochlear implant in five children (ages 7-10). The auditory condition affected peak IOP more than IOP duration. (Contains references.) (Author/CR)

A study examined the speech intelligibility of children (ages 1-15) with deafness who use hearing aids. Data revealed a strong significant trend toward higher intelligibility for children with more residual hearing, and a significant trend toward higher intelligibility for users of oral communication than those using total communication. (Contains references.) (Author/CR)

A study considered the validity of portions of the MacArthur Communicative Development Inventories (MCDI) for 50 pediatric cochlear implant users (ages 1-6) who exceeded the age ranges for which these inventories were normed. Results indicate MCDI scores plus age could be used to obtain Reynell Developmental Language Scales scores. (Contains references.) (CR)

A study examined language skills in 44 pediatric cochlear implant users. All participants received implants before age 6 and were programmed with state-of-the-art stimulation strategies (Continuous Interleaved Sampler or Spectral Peak) since the day of initial stimulation. Postimplantation language development proceeded at a pace that was not significantly different from normal. (Contains references.) (Author/CR)

This study compared the speech perception skills over time (mean = 3.5 years) of 74 prelingually deaf children using cochlear implants with the predicted speech perception skills of 58 similar children using hearing aids. Generally, speech perception scores for the children using cochlear implants were higher that those predicted for children with a 101-110 dB hearing loss using hearing aids. (Author/DB)

Purpose: This study examined the ability of listeners using cochlear implants (CIs) and listeners with normal hearing (NH) to identify silent gaps of different duration and the relation of this ability to speech understanding in CI users. Method: Sixteen NH adults and 11 postlingually deafened adults with CIs identified synthetic vowel-like stimuli that were either continuous or contained an intervening silent gap ranging from 15 ms to 90 ms. Cumulative d', an index of discriminability, was calculated for each participant. Consonant and consonant--nucleus--consonant (CNC) word identification tasks were administered to the CI group. Results: Overall, the ability to identify stimuli with gaps of different duration was better for the NH group than for the CI group. Seven CI users had cumulative d' scores that were no higher than those of any NH listener, and their CNC word scores ranged from 0% to 30%. The other 4 CI users had cumulative d' scores within the range of the NH group, and their CNC word scores ranged from 46% to 68%. For the CI group, cumulative d' scores were significantly correlated with their speech testing scores. Conclusions: The ability to identify silent gap duration may help explain individual differences in speech perception by CI users. KEY WORDS: gap duration identification, cochlear implants, speech perception, Cochlear implants (CIs) are electronic devices that have enabled individuals with severe-to-profound hearing loss to regain some hearing. Nearly all of those individuals who receive CIs regain the sensation of [...]

Objectives/Hypothesis: The aim of this study was to obtain a reliable estimate of single‐sided deafness (SSD) prevalence in the adult U.S. population. Methods: A cross‐sectional national epidemiologic study was performed. Participants were included from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES). Each cohort includes a nationally representative sample of approximately 5,000 noninstitutionalized civilians. Subjects 20 years old and over with audiometric testing were included. SSD was defined as normal hearing (pure‐tone average [PTA] of ≤25 dB) in one ear and severe or worse hearing (PTA > 70 dB) in the other, using both three‐ and four‐frequency PTA definition. Prevalence was measured as a raw number (n) and percentage (%) of the sample. Weighted estimates of prevalence were calculated based on the 2019 U.S. population census. Results: An estimated 345,064 Americans (estimated prevalence of 0.14%, 95% confidence interval = 0.08–0.24) had SSD. SSD was more prevalent in individuals 60 to 79 years of age (estimated 155,917 U.S. adults, prevalence of 0.25%). A higher prevalence of SSD was noted among women compared to men (215,430 U.S. adult women, prevalence of 0.17% vs. 131,726 U.S. adult men, prevalence of 0.11%). Using a three‐frequency PTA definition resulted in an estimated prevalence of 0.11%. Finally, 27% of adults with SSD reported having "good" or "excellent" hearing despite their hearing loss. Conclusions: The prevalence of SSD in the United States is estimated at 0.11%–0.14% (271,122 to 345,064 adults), depending on PTA definition used. These individuals could potentially benefit from auditory rehabilitation, including cochlear implantation. Level of Evidence: 2 Laryngoscope, 132:1652–1656, 2022 [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]