Résumé
The perception of speech was examined in French Ss implanted with the Nucleus multichannel cochlear implant. Ss were either congenitally deaf (N = 24, aged 2:3-7:6) or prelingually deaf (N = 12, aged 2:4-9:0). Most studies of the Nucleus cochlear implant have used English-speaking Ss; the intent of this study was to determine whether speech processing strategies found effective for English-speaking users would extend to a different language. Ss were assessed using tests of phoneme detection, closed-set word identification, closed-set sentence identification, & open-set speech recognition. Performance was measured at postimplant intervals of 3, 6, 9, 18, 24, 30, & 36 months. Significant speech perception improvements were found for all Ss during the first three years after implantation. Significant differences in performance were found between the congenital group & the prelingual group at some intervals. It is suggested that the Nucleus speech processing strategy adequately conveys French speech cue patterns. 9 Tables, 5 Figures, 18 References. Adapted from the source document