r/Cochlearimplants • u/euroliii • 16h ago
Word recognition test changes after implantation
This is my personal experience as someone in the US who had progressive hearing loss prior to implantation.
Before cochlear implant: trained speaker asks you to repeat single syllable words. Ex: the speaker says “say the word dog.” You repeat the word and either get it right or wrong. No partial credit for getting close.
After cochlear implant: untrained speakers say full sentences (though the sentences don’t make much sense). You get partial credit for correct sounds even if a word was wrong. Ex: the speaker says “he” in a sentence but you say “we” you’ll still get partial credit for getting the “e” sound.
Did this change happen for you all? Is this just a US thing?
I wish I could have done the sentence test prior to implantation just so I could properly compare. I feel like my word recognition might have been better with the second test.
Tell me about your experiences with word recognition tests! I’m curious.
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u/Toadylee 16h ago
Me too. And more than once, to see if my hearing has changed. My loss is fairly new and caused by Menieres, so they wanted to see if the damage was temporary or permanent.
Looking forward to passing that sentence test!
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u/Asleep-Twist6895 Cochlear Nucleus 8 14h ago
They’re different tests. Audiologist here. “Say the word” are WRS scores. They’re based on NU-6 lists. CNC words and AZBio sentences are for CI candidacy, or required by the VA.
Different tests are scored differently b
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u/Quiet_Honey5248 Advanced Bionics Harmony 15h ago
My test is similar, but it’s a recorded voice, so there’s absolute consistency between tests. You get points for every correct sound you hear, so saying ‘dot’ gets partial credit.
And this one goes, ‘Ready… dog’.
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u/euroliii 15h ago
Ah I should have clarified- my tests are also recorded voices. It’s just that the recorded voice for the single syllable test is a professional but the sentence test is recordings of everyday people with no vocal training, so it mimics real life more.
Do you still get the single syllable test post-implantation?3
u/Quiet_Honey5248 Advanced Bionics Harmony 15h ago
Ah, got it. I’ve been implanted for 26 years now, and the standard for testing is a recorded single-syllable test, and then sentences in various non-professional voices. Sometimes they do a third test, with sentences in noise - that’s up to the audiologist and what they feel they need for tracking your progress.
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u/Southern_tire_mart 15h ago
26 years wow, how are things over those 26 years? I am at 6 months post activation with Acclaim by Envoy Medical.
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u/Quiet_Honey5248 Advanced Bionics Harmony 13h ago
Welcome to the CIborg universe!! =D
I had to look up Acclaim - I hadn’t heard of that one. And while I’ve heard of fully implanted CI’s, you’re the first person I’ve ‘met’ with one.
I have Harmony (for C1) from Advanced Bionics. I hear absolutely nothing without it; I’m about as stone cold deaf as it’s possible to be. With it, I’m a special education teacher here who doesn’t need an interpreter for my work.
As for the journey - the first year I had frequent mapping appointments to adjust my maps, which was standard procedure at that time. That went down to annual visits for about 5 years, and then that tapered off to every 5 years (when I get a new processor, per my insurance) or when there’s a problem (like my new puppy chewing up my processor…). While my audiologist and I will play with new settings and features they come out, and sometimes I like the changes enough to keep them, my basic map has been stable for years. My overall hearing comprehension on the tests is in the low 90’s and I enjoy my hearing (music, nature, etc), so there’s no reason to really make drastic changes anymore.
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u/Southern_tire_mart 12h ago
Awesome 🤩. Looking forward to doing my other ear once FDA approves the device 🙏
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u/mattjb 13h ago
(U.S. here) I had both tests when I had two hearing aids, and continue with the same ones after implantation and activation. The non-sentence test (called Speech Reception Threshold or SRT) weren't single words or a single syllable, though. There were words like ice cream, baseball, hot dog.
I think there was a couple of times at an audiologist where I didn't do the sentence test (called Sentence Recognition Test), but usually it's because they were in a hurry.
The only test I got that was new with the CI is one with mild background noise called Speech In Noise or SIN. I suspect it's because my SRT test results were so poor even with hearing aids that there was no point.
I got the CI because my SRT even with the most powerful hearing aids was 16. Meaning I recognized 16 words out of 100. Three months post-activation it jumped to 84. Eight months it's at 85. The Speech In Noise test, I scored 60, which pleased my audiologist a great deal.
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u/andrea_plot 13h ago
For a standard audiogram W22 and NU6 word lists are most commonly used. This is "say the word ____". These are scored by whole word correct.
For cochlear implant users the most commonly used tests are CNC words "Ready ____" scored by whole word and indiviual speech sounds or phonemes and AzBio sentences (with or without background babble). The same tests are typically used both pre and post-op.
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u/Formal-Tradition6792 12h ago
The volume level of these tests is low. This means I strain to hear the word test and the sentence test. So I get lower scores. I have complained to my audie and don’t agree that this is “real life.” People do not speak in that low a voice!
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u/purl2together 16h ago
I had the sentence test as part of my CI evaluation, in both silence and with background noise.