New strategy lets cochlear implant users hear music

For many, music is a universal language that unites people when words cannot.

But for those who use cochlear implants – technology that allows deaf and hard of hearing people to comprehend speech – hearing music remains extremely challenging.

University of Washington scientists hope to change this. They have developed a new way of processing the signals in cochlear implants to help users hear music better. The technique lets users perceive differences between musical instruments, a significant improvement from what standard cochlear implants can offer, said lead researcher Les Atlas, a University of Washington professor of electrical engineering.

“Right now, cochlear-implant subjects do well when it’s quiet and there is a single person talking, but with music, noisy rooms or multiple people talking, it’s difficult to hear,” Atlas said. “We are on the way to solving the issue with music.” Atlas and other researchers believe that hearing music has possible links to hearing speech better in noisy settings, another goal of this research.

Atlas and collaborator Jay Rubinstein, a UW professor of otolaryngology and of bioengineering, and members of their labs recently published their initial findings in the IEEE Transactions on Neural Systems and Rehabilitation Engineering. A study on eight cochlear-implant users showed that using this new coding strategy let them distinguish between musical instruments much more accurately than with the standard devices.

The researchers hope to fine-tune the signal processing to make it compatible with cochlear implants already on the market so users can improve their music perception right away. They also are working on algorithms to better support device users’ perception of pitch and melody.

“This is the critical first-step that opened the door,” Atlas said.

Read more . . .